Delivery commitments are written into individual contracts as Skuse says: “If we’ve got a 30-minute delivery and 10 minutes into that delivery the same customer rings back to say he’s forgotten spark plugs, another van has to be dispatched, because if we miss the delivery commitment the customer receives a refund – a voucher against his next order."

This time critical nature of deliveries ensures individual branches maintain an effective fleet as any refund is paid out of their profits.

“The biggest challenge is keeping up with the growth of the company,” says Skuse.

The fleet has almost doubled in size in the past 12 months and the company’s branch network is expected to grow to around 170 by the end of the year.

It means Euro Car Parts will become Peugeot’s biggest van customer over the next 12 months, with 700 vehicles due to be replaced.

As such, the manufacturer has made a commitment to always to hold a back-up fleet of 25 vehicles, which are fully liveried and ready to be dispatched immediately.

Skuse says: “I’m able to say to Peugeot I need a van in Kilmarnock, I need one in Exeter and I need one in Milton Keynes, and I need them tomorrow.”

Euro Car Parts has purchased its cars and vans outright for the past two-and-a-half years after originally funding vehicles through finance lease, where it would take the depreciation risk.

However, after the company was sold to US business LKQ for £225 million in 2011, more funds became available and it was simply cheaper to buy its vehicles.

“I still keep a close eye on how the fleet is funded to ensure cash is not being taken away from branch development and put into depreciating metal,” says Skuse.

“But there is no better way of financing the vehicles than the one we currently have.”

It’s hard to find fault with his argument considering the company’s unique position in the marketplace due to the nature of its core business.

He explains: “If you take a typical branch with a typical van, when that van is serviced it goes to the local service agent who is a customer of ours.

“The parts are in the back of the van selected out of our own stock, which is drawn from a dedicated ‘van account’. They then produce a serviced vehicle at a given price per hour.

“I’m probably running the cheapest fleet in the country, because we can supply our own parts.”