Autoclenz gained £1m of new business in the first six months of the year, and added a further £700,000 to its annual turnover with a new contract in July.

Trevor Clingo, group finance director, says: “We feel this is a good performance and we have further new contracts in the pipeline. There is a lot of churn in our sector, and we did well to make a net gain of £1m-worth of business.”

The latest contract is with a car logistics company that has asked not to be named. It covers the valeting and quality-control preparation of up to 300 vehicles per day.

“We have diversified and become less reliant on franchised dealers, who are having a difficult time at the moment,” says Clingo. “Autoclenz bases its business on quality, not low cost, and our clients include rental operators at airports.”

Autoclenz has been listed on the AIM market since last December. In the first half of its 2006 finance year, its revenues totalled £13.3m (up on the previous year), with a gross profit of £3.8m.

Grahame Rummery, chief executive, says the AC Smart cosmetic repair division made an outstanding start to the year, with like-for-like sales rising 63%.