Company History

The origins of Cawteco Limited

Cawte & Elms was established in the early 1970's by Brian Cawte. Cawte and Elms Motor Engineers operated from the Cambridge Road site in Gosport. In the late 1970's the business underwent expansion and was one of the first independent garages in southern Hampshire to obtain a license to carry out MOT testing by the Department of Transport.

As the demand for auto repairs and MOT's increased towards the end of the 1980's, the two brothers, Simon and Stephen Cawte opened a new service centre at Clarence Wharf Ind. Estate, Gosport. The Clarence Wharf branch has been known for many years as Gosport Tyres and Exhausts or GTE for short. After several years of successful trading in the Gosport area, the brothers expanded the business north and a further centre was opened in West Street, Fareham called Fastway Autocentre. 

In 2000 the GTE and Fastway businesses were incorporated and the parent company CawteCo Limited was formed. In 2005 CawteCo Limited further expanded with the acquisition of P&B Tyre and Exhaust Centre and Romsey Van Hire at the Budds Lane trading estate in Romsey. Already a successful business, P&B had been serving Romsey’s local community for over 20 years! Then in 2006 with the retirement of Brian Cawte, the brothers added Cawte & Elms to their growing portfolio. The expansion of the company is continuing with the extension of the successful van hire business into Gosport at Cambridge Road.

Presently the owners/directors of CawteCo Ltd are brothers Simon and Stephen Cawte. The company has developed into an elite group of motoring related centres offering services from replacement tyres to van hire. In addition to Simon and Stephen the company has 26 highly trained professional staff including their respective partners Lynne and Sylvia who are both active in the business. All their staff have a can-do attitude and collectively they have with skills in all areas of motor repair, MOTs and servicing. Many of CawteCo's customers come back time and time again because of the help and advice of experienced staff with specific expertise to deal with all makes and models or vehicle.