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Gregg Little Testing Centre business development manager Emma Little (front) with Aycliffe players Stuart Owen and Lewis Wing,
and some of Gregg Little’s team after sponsoring the club’s tracksuits for the 2014-15 season.
FOOTY CLUB GETS A LITTLE
HELPING HAND
Gregg Little has always been one
for giving something back into the
community - and he has underlined
that with a new sponsorship deal this
summer.
His firm, Gregg Little Testing Centre,
are now proudly emblazoned on the
back of the tracksuits worn by Newton
Aycliffe FC’s players.
It follows years of donations to local
organisations and charity fundraising
which gives the company a firm
standing in the local community.
Gregg worked in the coal mine at
Bearpark in Durham before going into
the motor business on a six-month
government training scheme with
Adams and Gibbons in Durham.
He then set up his first business,
LBW Motors in Bishop Auckland, in
1971 and 10 years later he opened
his second garage, Royal Oak Garage,
also in Bishop.
Gregg then set up Gregg Little
Testing Centre in Newton Aycliffe in
1989.
“I started off with £24 in my pocket
and two big cabbages on my ears!”
says Gregg.
“A lot of people were telling me to
get down here, it’s the land of milk and
honey, I was being told.
“So I did and I’ve not looked back
since. The business has grown and
we’ve kept our ties with the local
community, with the likes of the
Rotary Club, Air Ambulance, Yellow
Brick Road and Echo Cardiography at
Bishop Auckland, to name just a few.”
Gregg, now 70, is starting to take a
step back from the day-to-day running
of the business, allowing him more
time to enjoy other pursuits outside
the motor trade, such as tennis,
snooker and sailing.
His pride and joy is his Wayfarer
bought, called Lady Ann after his wife,
Ann, who bought it for Gregg’s 65th
birthday.
With
Emma
as
business
development manager, the team
consists of foreman Norman Travers,
garage manager Les Douthwaite,
office manager Claire Thain along with
Alice Todd (customer relationships),
Neil Atterby (bodyshop manager)
and mechanics James Little, Andrew
Walton, Luke Reynolds, Anthony
Dowson and Bill Clemmett.
Now Gregg is planning to take an
even bigger stride away from the
business by offering some of his staff
a chance to buy half of the trading
company as an incentive.
“I work part-time these days and,
even though it’s difficult to let go when
you’ve been in the business for 40
years, I’m trying to hand the reins over
as much as I can,” adds Gregg.
“I just want to give some of the
staff an incentive to not only secure
their future, but also the future of the
business.
“Some of the staff are part-andparcel of the business already, it
makes sense to offer them a chance
to buy a stake in it and is something
that can only benefit the business.”
For all your motoring needs, from
MOT’s to services and repairs, give
Gregg Little Testing Centre a call
today on 01325 321621.