DS Auto

A clear succession plan, backed by streamlined systems and steady financial guidance, is behind the smooth transition now underway at a well loved Nelson/Tasman classic car business.

DS Auto is a long standing name in the Nelson/Tasman region, restoring and selling classic cars, importing and exporting vehicles, running a WOF testing station, and selling caravans, with around 50 vehicles changing hands each year.

The business has worked with WK for years, a relationship that began through a merger with Strawbridge and has continued ever since, with WK Strawbridge advisor Lisa Mortensen now part of the team supporting the business.

As the founders began thinking about retirement, succession needed careful planning. The key role was to retire and let the next generation take over, and once that was confirmed, the family worked with WK to map out what the transition would look like.

"That's where WK have helped by putting a plan in place," the family says.

"WK have been so immensely helpful for within a transition of growing. I've stepped in quite a bit more in that aspect, and Lisa and Jane have really helped with that. They are such great people to work with, can pick up the phone and ring them on something, they're just always there to help and assist."

Lisa and the wider WK team also helped streamline the business's day to day accounting systems, an area that has become increasingly important as more processes shift online.

"There's lots of things currently in the process that we're looking at going forward, you know, a lot of things going electronic. It's always systems which have sort of created and helped assist us to use them and understand them. Going forward, I think a lot of those systems will really come into play and work well," the family says.

Beyond the numbers, it's the relationship that has made the biggest difference.

"They always there to help us and sort of become family. WK are just great for us."