SILVER Shield has announced a £5 million development programme to boost its presence in the windscreen repair industry. The company, which also owns Swansea City Football Club, has spent £800,000 buying eight franchises - six in London, plus Chester and Telford.

The £5 million investment will also see the company upgrade its technology and national control centre based in Coventry. The announcement came as Auto Windscreens was bought by finance house HSBC Private Equity for £77.2 million. Silver Shield now owns all the branches in London, as well as a further 17 of the 70-strong nationwide network.

David Pearse, Silver Shield's sales and marketing director, said: 'We are currently third after Autoglass and Auto Windscreens, and at the moment that is something we are not too worried about. The company is expanding quickly and providing a better service all the time. By concentrating on improving our quality, consistency and standards, we could find ourselves catching up with Auto Windscreens.'