Blackcircles.com

What Blackcircles.com does

Blackcircles.com is the UK's leading online tyre retailer, founded in 2001 in Edinburgh and operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Michelin following the 2015 acquisition for £50 million. The company operates a direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform where motorists search for tyres by vehicle registration, tyre size, or brand, and complete purchase online with payment made upfront before fitting. The platform stocks tyres from over 40 brands spanning budget, mid-range, and premium tiers (Michelin, Goodyear, Bridgestone, Continental, Pirelli, Hankook, Yokohama, Vredestein, and others) across car, van, 4x4, EV, motorcycle, caravan, summer, winter, all-season, runflat, and performance categories. Headcount is reported in the 11-50 range, reflecting an asset-light operating model.

Name

Blackcircles.com

Legal name

Blackcircles.com

Website

https://blackcircles.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Blackcircles.com is the UK's leading online tyre retailer, founded in 2001 and owned by Michelin, connecting consumers to over 2,200 independent garage fitting centres and offering 40+ tyre brands plus mobile fitting, MOT, and Tyre Guarantee services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Tyre Retail

NAICS

Tire Dealers (441340), Tire Dealers (44134)

SIC

Wholesale-Motor Vehicle Supplies & New Parts (5013)

akta.pro primary industry

Retail Tire Sales & Installation (Consumer) (TLAKADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Automotive Parts, Tools & Accessories Marketplaces (CRAFABAJ), Mobile Tire Service & Emergency Roadside (On-Site) (TLAKADAC), Tire & Wheel Services (Mount/Balance/Alignment) (TLAKAAAD)

Keywords

• Online tyre retail
• Tyre fitting services
• Automotive e-commerce
• Vehicle tyre sales
• Car servicing MOT

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tyre Sales: Revenue generated from the sale of tyres across multiple brands including premium, mid-range, and budget options. Customers pay for tyres online with fully fitted prices including delivery, fitting, balancing, new rubber valve, and disposal of old tyres.
2. Fitting Network Fees: Revenue from coordinating tyre fitting services through a network of over 2,200 independent garages across the UK, with Blackcircles managing the transaction and routing jobs to fitting partners.
3. MOT and Servicing: Additional revenue stream from booking MOT tests and car servicing through garage partners.
4. Tyre Guarantee: Optional tyre protection plan offered from £6.99 per tyre covering accidental damage and manufacturing defects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Blackcircles.com is the UK's leading online tyre retailer, selling new tyres across 40+ brands (premium, mid-range, and budget) with vehicle registration and tyre size search on its e-commerce platform. Customers pay online for fully fitted prices that include VAT, delivery, fitting, balancing, new rubber valve, and disposal of old tyres, with fulfilment routed to a nationwide network of over 2,200 independent garage fitting centres or via mobile fitting at the customer's location. The core offering is augmented by an optional Tyre Guarantee protection plan (from £6.99 per tyre), MOT and servicing bookings, and PayPal Credit financing.

Product overview

Blackcircles.com is the UK's leading online tyre retailer (founded 2001), operating a platform-plus-partner-network model. The core product is an e-commerce platform for purchasing tyres online with flexible fulfilment options: in-garage fitting at over 2,200 UK locations, mobile fitting at the customer's home or workplace, or mail-order delivery. The offering is augmented by add-on services including Tyre Guarantee (accident and defect protection from £6.99/tyre), MOT & Servicing through garage partners, and PayPal Credit financing (up to 12 months 0% interest). The platform stocks tyres across 40+ brands spanning car, van, 4x4, EV, winter, summer, all-season, runflat, performance, budget, mid-range, and premium categories. The company has served over 2 million customers and sold over 36 million tyres.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Blackcircles Pitstop: Pitstop fitting centres located at key Tesco stores and shopping centres across the UK

Products and services

• Online Tyre Retail Platform E-commerce platform enabling UK motorists to search by vehicle registration or tyre size, browse 40+ tyre brands across budget, mid-range, and premium categories, and purchase tyres online with fully fitted pricing including VAT, delivery, fitting, balancing, new rubber valve, and disposal of old tyres, routed to a nationwide network of over 2,200 independent fitting centres.
• Mobile Tyre Fitting Standalone fitting service where partnered mobile fitters travel to a customer's home or workplace to install new tyres on the customer's driveway, offering convenience for those who cannot or prefer not to visit a garage. Available at various locations across the UK through the Blackcircles mobile fitting network.
• Tyre Guarantee Protection Plan Optional protection plan available on all tyre brands sold through the platform, priced from £6.99 per tyre, covering accidental damage, punctures, and bulges as well as manufacturing defects. Customers can add the Tyre Guarantee to any tyre purchase as a standalone add-on product.
• MOT & Servicing Vehicle MOT testing and servicing booked through Blackcircles.com's garage partner network, covering standard MOT, EV MOT, Hybrid MOT, and service levels including interim, full, major, and EV-specific servicing. Bookable as a standalone service through the Blackcircles platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2 million customers served since 2001
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• PayPalcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPayPal integration for secure payment processing including PayPal Credit financing options (0% interest for up to 12 months on Michelin tyres when spending £500+) and Pay in 3 interest-free payment plans.
• Tyre Manufacturers NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnerships with major tyre manufacturers including Michelin, Goodyear, Bridgestone, Continental, Hankook, Pirelli, Yokohama, Kumho, Falken, Dunlop, Vredestein, and many others for inventory and promotional campaigns.
• Independent Garage Network (2,200+)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOver 2,200 independently owned garages across the UK forming the largest fitting network. Garages join the network for agreed job numbers, regular fitting fee income, and exposure to new customers. Mobile fitting partners also available.
• TescosecondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBlackcircles Pitstop fitting centres located at key Tesco stores and shopping centres across the UK, providing dedicated in-store tyre fitting locations.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kwik Fit: UK's largest specialist tyre and exhaust fitting chain with a national centre network and online booking. Direct competitor offering overlapping tyre retail plus fitting, though with a predominantly owned-and-operated centre model rather than independent partners.
• ATS Euromaster: Major UK tyre retailer and fitting network with both owned centres and franchise partners. Competes directly on tyre selection, fitting convenience, and fleet services.
• National Tyres: Long-standing UK tyre and exhaust retailer with a national branch network, offering online ordering with in-branch fitting. Comparable model to Blackcircles with owned rather than independent garage partners.
• Delticom: European online tyre retailer (parent of TyreShopper, mytyres.co.uk, etc.) operating multiple DTC tyre brands across Europe. Closest continental analogue to Blackcircles' online-plus-partner-fitting model.
• Tirendo: European online tyre retailer operating in the UK and Germany, offering tyres with fitting partner networks. Comparable pure-play e-commerce-plus-fitting proposition to Blackcircles.
• Protyre: UK tyre retailer with both owned and partner fitting centres, providing competitive online tyre pricing and MOT/servicing attach. Overlaps significantly with Blackcircles' full-service proposition.

Broad incumbents

• Halfords: UK retailer of motoring products including tyres, parts, and cycling. Sells tyres online with in-store fitting, making it an indirect but broad-overlap competitor in consumer automotive retail.
• Amazon UK (Tyres & Auto): General online retailer that includes automotive tyres and accessories. While not a tyre specialist, its scale and logistics create price-comparison pressure on specialist tyre platforms.

Regional players

• Tyre Pros: UK tyre retailer connected to the Kwik Fit family, offering a broad brand portfolio with fitting. Adjacent competitor serving similar consumer and small-fleet tyre replacement needs.

Emerging players

• Rolo Tires: Factory-direct DTC tyre brand launched in 2026 by Blackcircles founder Michael Welch targeting UK and European markets with an agentic-AI-enabled operating model. Direct emerging challenger targeting Blackcircles' customer base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/blackcirclesmd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blackcircles-com
• Facebookfacebook.com/Blackcircles

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Blackcircles.com