End of the road for A and B Tyres after 30 years

Director Bryan Banbury, who has lived in Newbury all his life, said the recession, along with a lack of support from banks and an unwillingness to compromise his values had caused the business to hit the skids.
A and B Tyres, which began life in a mechanic’s yard near Newbury Clocktower in 1983, closed its doors on Friday, April 13, and now Mr Banbury said he must join the queues and look for another job after spending his entire working life in the tyre trade.
“We’ve moved around a fair bit but we are well known in Newbury and beyond. We simply couldn’t afford to keep going,” he said.
“We survived one recession but not this one. If companies like Borders, Woolworths and Mothercare can’t make it work, what chance does a small local have?
“We’ve seen grandfathers, fathers and sons come through the doors over the years, three generations of customers. Not only that, throughout the years we have done a lot for the local school, Turnpike School, we have taken on countless work experience kids and apprentices over the years.
“Lads who otherwise might have ended up in prison they have come through and learned a trade, settled down and had families. It’s not just that we sell things we have a connection to the local community and were part of it, it is a sad end.
“I would like to thank all our customers for their loyalty over the years. Many of them did not know we were in difficulties. I have made sacrifices over the years to keep us going, I have sold my house, but in the end I just couldn’t carry on.
“I don’t want to cut corners and rip people off, that was never what we were about, but the state the economy is in today - banks don’t want to lend, you can’t get money, it seems like it is the only way to survive for some.”
The firm moved to Newtown Road in 1987, and was a big local supplier to the agricultural trade.
As the knock-on effect of the recession and the credit crunch hit the farming community, Mr Banbury started to feel the pinch.