Steer Automotive Group is a finalist in The Lloyds Outstanding Mid Market Business of the Year Award at the 2026 Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards. The group describes itself as the UK’s largest automotive repair business, running a nationwide network of repair centres serving motorists, insurers, fleet operators, commercial partners and luxury vehicle manufacturers.
Its core work is accident repair, vehicle refurbishment and associated services, delivered, the company says, through skilled teams, advanced technology and strong manufacturer relationships.
National scale, local culture
According to the business, what sets it apart is the pairing of national reach with local culture. Alongside its fleet and commercial work it has specialist capability in luxury and prestige vehicles, with the same standards applied across every repair type. Expansion has continued while the group focuses on workplaces where colleagues feel supported, developed and valued.
The market is shifting quickly. Steer points to the rise of electric vehicles, increasingly complex vehicle technology and growing expectations around sustainability, quality and service, and says it has responded by investing in modern facilities, technician development and environmentally responsible practices. The Institute of the Motor Industry reported in June 2026 that roughly 35 per cent of UK technicians hold an electric vehicle qualification, and forecast a shortfall of more than 43,000 by 2035.
Building the next generation of technicians
The group reports that its apprenticeship programme is the largest in its sector, opening routes into the trade for the next generation of automotive professionals. Continuing training, it says, keeps teams able to repair the latest vehicle technologies safely across every market it serves. That emphasis on skills maps onto the criteria judges apply in the Lloyds Outstanding Mid Market Business of the Year Award, which weighs employee engagement alongside commercial results.
Cutting the carbon in a repair
In the past year Steer says it has expanded its network, invested in new sites and deepened relationships across the insurer, manufacturer, fleet, commercial and luxury markets, while increasing its focus on sustainable repair methods. The company reports involvement in the ARIES programme, the use of 100 per cent green energy, a 97 per cent plastics recycling rate across the group and an 8.5 per cent year-on-year reduction in CO2 emissions.
ARIES, the Accident Repair Industry Environmental Standard, was drawn up as a sector-specific successor to PAS 2060, which stopped being a recognised standard at the end of 2025, as Bodyshop Magazine reported in March 2025. Steer’s own newsroom records its place on the working group behind it.
The business says its focus on people, innovation and continuous improvement has made it a trusted partner across several parts of the automotive industry, and that combining scale with strong local teams is shaping a more skilled, more customer-focused future for UK vehicle repair. It is one of some 200 finalists at this year’s Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards.
