Tunnel car washes
|Lithuania and Latvia
|Investment: EUR 40 million
Built-to-Suit projects
Financing
Land acquisition
Design
Construction management
PRO BRO is a network of tunnel car washes actively expanding its franchise in Latvia and Lithuania. Its goal is to develop a superior alternative to self-service car washes and traditional car washes available at petrol stations.
Having set itself the goal of rapidly expanding its network of tunnel car washes, PRO BRO quickly realised it did not know the ins and outs of the design and construction of such car washes or what is involved in the discovery and procurement of land lots. The company also lacked the funds necessary to pursue expansion independently.
Our work began with a thorough search for a lot of land that would meet PRO BRO’s stipulated criteria. We looked for the most strategically beneficial lots that had to be easy to see, located next to high-traffic streets, of the right size, and featuring comfortable entrances and exits (ideally, each from a different street). During the discovery process, it turned out that most of the suitable lots were not put on public sale. This means that some of the lots we ended up purchasing were larger than needed, which forced us to address the question of selling or developing the surplus land. When selecting the lots, we also had to consider market specifics and the divergences between different legal frameworks. In total, we assessed 130 lots in Latvia and Lithuania.
Upon purchasing the most suitable lots, we moved on to the design stage. The architects we chose for the task not only created the individual designs for the car washes, but also contributed to finalising and standardising their overall concept. This work represented an important part of PRO BRO’s expansion. Each project was adjusted to the lot allocated for it, taking account of the shape, locations of entrances, and surrounding areas.
To ensure the network’s successful expansion, we also established an investment fund, which helped us attract investors and implement the projects more effectively.
In addition, we formed several project management teams whose professional members were tasked with supervising construction both in Latvia and Lithuania. The client didn’t have to build its own project management team – as we had already taken care of everything.
Thanks to consistent communication, PRO BRO was able to open as many as 9 new tunnel car washes in just a handful of years.
Within short order, PRO BRO became the market leader. Their car wash network had beat the competition that was relying exclusively on its own resources for expansion. This achievement reflected the correctness of the chosen strategy and highlighted the benefits of effective communication.
Once our team had assumed the responsibility for funding and implementing the expansion projects, PRO BRO was able to focus on managing and building up its business.
Each completed tunnel wash project was not only a step forward, but also a valuable lesson. During the process, we also constantly worked on improving the project concepts together with PRO BRO. These improvements boosted the effectiveness of the washes and helped us develop standardised solutions for the network’s future growth.
A year ago, the bank also financed the expansion of "PRO BRO" tunnel car washes in Latvia by providing a EUR 3.6 million loan to another company within the "Kenova" group, "KNVPP LV 2 SIA."