He said: “I love being self-employed – I am no longer just a number on a company payroll - and my quality of life is directly affected by my own hard work and determination to succeed. Being made redundant hit me like a ton of bricks, but my ChipsAway franchise has given me my life back and restored my self belief.”

Within his first three months of trading Mr Catchpole exceeded his initial projections, and after only six months he had achieved an income equivalent to his previous well-paid position as an IT manager. Today is the proud owner of a top-of-the-range three-litre Z4 BMW Sports Coupe and a brand new Harley- Davidson Fat Boy motor bike.

He explained: “I’ve always wanted to run my own business, but I am a cautious character and I don’t like to take risks. In fact, in choosing a franchise, my number one priority was ensuring that whatever the business, the risk factor had to be minimal. Of course, it was important to find something with potential for me to earn at least the same income as I did before, but most of all I wanted security.”

His long term love affair with cars led him to a couple of auto repair franchises and then to leading SMART (Small to Medium Area Repair Technology) repair specialists ChipsAway International, which has over 350 franchisees in operation across the UK and a network of master franchisees worldwide.

Using a unique system originally developed in the USA, ChipsAway franchisees provide on-the-spot repairs to scratches, scuffs and bumps on car paintwork, in a fraction of the time taken by a traditional body shop and usually at around half the cost.

Mr Catchpole had initially attended an Open Day for another franchise, and recalled that it had all sounded good until right at the end when he learned that the franchisor would be taking 30 per cent of all profits.

He admits to feeling somewhat disillusioned, until the following day when he attended a ChipsAway Open Day and found the experience there was entirely different.

He said: “Everyone was open, extremely professional, but also friendly and informal. We were given a demonstration, which was very impressive and they confirmed that ChipsAway franchisees pay only a flat management fee of £70 per week, irrespective of how successful and profitable the individual franchisee’s business. I was completely convinced ChipsAway was the franchise for me and I haven’t looked back since.”

Information: www.chipsaway.co.uk