Car wash business plan template

Executive Summary

Business Overview

Lave-Auto Caen will be a car wash located in the city of Caen on a road that leads directly to the ring road surrounding the Caen agglomeration.

Being located close to major roads gives Caen residents the ability to visit our car wash as and when they please for an efficient car washing service.

With a garage and service station located just a few hundred metres from our car wash, we'll complete the range of car services offered in the area to make it a one-stop-shop for motorists.

Lave-Auto Caen will offer three types of services: self-service cleaning, hand cleaning, and express hand cleaning.

We have chosen to offer these three types of services to cater to a wide range of preferences - whether customers are in a hurry and want a quick clean or would prefer a deep cleaning service.

We will also make sure to use biodegradable and environmentally friendly products, while using recyclable cleaning brushes.

Lave-Auto Caen will be a limited company with a share capital of €10,000. Colin C. will be the manager.

Colin has more than ten years of experience in various cleaning companies in the region.

Colin has joined forces with two private investors, Jean P. and Sarah N., who will not be involved in the day-to-day management of the company. The partners have also contributed €55,000 to the director loan's account.

Market Overview

Domestic Market

According to INSEE, there was 32.7 million passenger vehicles in France in 2018, of which 6.1 million were light commercial vehicles.

Vehicle density (corresponding to passenger cars and light commercial vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants) in France is estimated at 600, similar to Germany, Spain, and Great Britain.

The car wash sector

Market figures

According to the French National Automobile Observatory (ANFA), there is very little data concerning the number of car wash businesses in France.

This can be explained by the diversity of the industry. There are 3 different main types of car wash services:

• Roller or jet washing. This takes up the majority of car wash centres in France. The customer goes to this type of car wash, which is generally located near shops such as cafes and convenience stores, and cleans their car themselves
• Steam or waterless washing. With the nation growing ever more environmentally conscious, this type of service has massively increased in popularity. It's carried out by a professional, and generally includes interior car cleaning or bodywork polishing.
• Fast service washing. This consists of leaving the car in with professional cleaners for an express service.

The difficulty in keeping track of the operation of the car services listed above is as follows:

The companies aren't necessarily referenced under the same activity code.Car garages using car washing as a service peripheral to their main activity are difficult to account for, given the activity code under which they operate.

Supermarkets that offer this type of service are also not referenced.Data on the number of car washes, therefore, remains limited - given the variety in the market.

In terms of revenues, Franchise Magazine's 2018 report on the Blue Elephant franchise, one of the car wash industry's biggest players in France, indicates that car washes belonging to their franchise generate between €150,000 and €200,000 in annual revenues with an initial investment of between €300,000 and €600,000 depending on the number of lanes and the size of the infrastructure in place.

Local Market

Since the city of Caen has a high concentration of apartments, it's not particularly easy for residents to wash their cars outside - especially those who live in the city centre.

The Caen metropolitan area alone has more than fifteen car wash stations, which illustrates a strong demand for car washing services.

With 66.9 million inhabitants in France and a fleet of 32.7 million cars, the number of cars per inhabitant is approximately 0.48 cars. It can therefore be estimated that the car fleet in Caen is about 51,000 passenger cars.

Financial Highlights

We believe we can achieve a total turnover of €148,925 in year 1, and then develop the business over the following years, by building customer loyalty and thanks to the impact of the actions planned in the marketing plan, to reach a turnover of €152,647 in year 2 and €158,050 in year 3.

We expect to achieve EBITDA of €12,628 (i.e .8.48% margin) in year 1, then EBITDA of €14,692 (i.e. 9.62% margin) in year 2, and €18,766 (i.e. 11.87% margin) in year 3.

Cash flow is expected to be positive over the duration of the plan, and the company should be sufficiently capitalized to enable us to meet our loan repayments while retaining sufficient leeway to renew our equipment and deal with any unforeseen events.

Our Ask

The opening of our car wash will require an initial investment of €136,000.

The manager and his partners have planned to contribute €65,000, i.e. 44.1% of the total.

To complete the initial financing, we would like to obtain a bank loan of €50,000 and a VAT bridging loan of €21,000.