Swift success: Mike and Matthew Yates beat the recession with Metro Rod and now run a thriving business.(Franchise Focus)

INVESTMENT LEVEL: 50,000 - [pounds sterling] 100,000

With an expanding workforce, healthy profits, and valuable contracts with household names like Pizza Express, BUPA and JD Wetherspoon, it's hard to believe that only 12 months ago Mike and Matthew Yates' business prospects were looking very different.

The brothers were experienced managers used to hard work and, in just four years, saw their Bolton-based removals and haulage company grow from a man-and-van operation to a 12-strong fleet of vehicles. But the slump in the housing market and rising fuel prices hit the firm hard, as Mike recalls: "We had to get out. We had to find a new business."

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