When Andy Heywood invited me down to the Bill McGrath workshop it was a little like 'waving a red rag to a bull'. The bull in question being me!

Always on the look out for extra material for the web site and I thought it would be the ideal opportunity to devote a page to one of the oldest and most respected Maserati workshops in the UK.

Bill McGrath had been in the motor trade for a number of years before setting up his company specialising in Maserati in 1977. The reason he chose Maserati was that he owned a 3500GTI which he had restored and was amazed at the difficulty in finding information and parts on these cars. As he progressed with his own car and joined the Maserati Club, word got out that he had some experience and so other owners started to come to him for work.

Between 1977 and 1984, the company was more or less a one man band but as interest grew, an expansion was necessary and in 1984, he moved to the current premises in Kimpton (although at first only in one unit).

In 1986, when the Biturbo was launched in the UK, McGrath Maserati became an official service agent and this continued throughout the Meridien period until Ferrari took over in 1998.

Meanwhile, the company grew steadily and in 1988, Andy Heywood joined - initially as a restorer but from 1990 as workshop manager. Bill McGrath Maserati have always retained a balance between the new and the older cars and also specialised in service rather than car sales.

They now have six mechanics: Alan Piggott and John Gibbins (who specialise in restoration), Nick Bowden, Brian Bunker and Duncan Berry (who specialise in servicing of older cars) and Paul Molyneux (who specializes in the Biturbo and 3200GT range). In addition, there is a parts department managed by Chris McNabb with his assistant Shaun Summerbee and an office manager Claire Prior and a book keeper, Colin Seddon.

The parts department not only provides spares for the workshop but also sells worldwide. These take the form of new old stock, sourced from reliable suppliers around the world and newly manufactured parts to replace obsolete originals. Some of the most recent additions are pistons and liners for the classic range. The company has also accumulated an unrivalled stock of second hand parts for the classic and Biturbo era cars.

Since 1997, Bill McGrath himself has been retired and in 2004 sold his remaining stock in the company to Andy Heywood, who has steadily grown the business to the size it is today.