Garage Hive, the community-driven garage management system, played a leading role in supporting the 2025 Top Awards, with its Operations Manager, Dawn Metcalfe, serving as judge in the 4-6 employees Top Garage category.
The finals, held on Saturday 15 November at Delphi Academy in Warwick, brought together the UK’s most accomplished garages, technicians, and apprentices for a day of intense competition, practical challenges, and celebration.
“Judging Top Garage was an incredible experience,” said Dawn Metcalfe. “The level of skill, organisation, and professionalism on display was inspiring, and it was fantastic to see finalists supporting one another throughout the day.”
In her role as judge, Dawn assessed finalists on leadership, operational excellence, and customer service, drawing on her extensive industry experience to highlight the top independent workshops.
Garage Hive’s involvement underlined its ongoing commitment to workshops, celebrating garages that demonstrate innovation, dedication, and professionalism. Notably, four of the seven garage winners are Garage Hive users, reflecting the strong operational standards and data-driven processes embraced across its community.
This year’s Top Awards also introduced Top Apprentice, shining a light on the next generation of automotive talent alongside the established Top Technician and Top Garage competitions.
The day’s excitement culminated in an evening gala at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Coventry, where winners were celebrated before an audience of industry peers, sponsors, and media. Awards for Top Technician, Top Garage, Top Apprentice, and special categories were announced amid a spirited atmosphere of applause.
Ray Dilsons, Managing Director at Garage Hive, added: “The Top Awards perfectly align with our mission to champion independent garages and the people behind them. Seeing so many workshops using Garage Hive recognised at this level is a proud moment for us.”
For more information on how Garage Hive helps independent garages streamline operations and achieve excellence, visit www.garagehive.co.uk.
Produced by Autotech Communications.
The Penygroes Service Centre located in South Wales was founded in 2014 by Jonathan. He has extensive 17 years of experience in the industry. However, Jon found himself doing a lot of manual labour for data management to keep a finger on the pulse of the business. Therefore, joined Garage Hive's garage management software in March 2021 and has already seen a significant improvement in his garage, an increase in gross profit and has achieved a great NPS® Score.
Tom and Kayleigh runs their garage TR Autos in Yeovil, Somerset. They joined Garage Hive last year. Tom has two decades of industry experience , both practical and technician side and now business as TR Autos was founded in 2008; since then the team has grown, practices have moved away from paper diaries to garage management software, their productivity has increased and they also have moved into bigger premises.
For progressive independent garage owners, business growth can be a double-edged sword. As the customer base expands and headcount increases, the systems that once kept the workshop ticking can quickly become administrative...
Exciting new features in Garage Hive! Thanks to your feedback, we've rolled out a packed set of improvements between September 2025 and March 2026, covering everything from customer communication and technician workflows to parts ordering and financial management. Here's a roundup of what's new:
Community-led garage management system, Garage Hive, has announced a new integration with Dingbro, Scotland’s largest independent motor factoring group. The integration allows users to seamlessly search Dingbro’s extensive online catalogue, add parts...