Here for you
Working within three different SLSHOP departments, these are the individuals that work to support classic and modern classic Mercedes-Benz owners around the world. Without these individuals, some of the most iconic vehicles of the past seventy years would no longer have a place on the road. Their passion and dedication is immense and SLSHOP wouldn’t exist without it.
These are the minds behind the SLSHOP machine.
Tom – Craftsman
Converse with Tom and you’ll immediately notice his passion for restoring classic cars. Tom’s skills have been honed across his personal and work life, with the W113 Pagoda as his primary remit in our workshops. If you’re familiar with any of our restoration projects, you will have witnessed Tom’s delicate work welding headlamp bowls to ensure trim fit, cutting door skins to size and restoring complete floors. A snapshot of a labour-intensive role that is a dying art.
Andy – Modern Classics Product Manager
A true petrolhead from the outset. Andy started life making radiators and number plates during his summer holidays as a teenager. This initial job lasted for two years before moving to a local Saab dealership where he worked his way up to becoming Parts Manager. Andy’s career spans some of the larger companies in the market, including 11 years at Euro Car Parts. Andy is now our resident Modern Classic Product Manager, spending his time fulfilling our responsibility to supply owners with every part for their car.
Nathan – IT Support
Nathan is our resident problem solver, working across all three business areas to support staff with tech challenges. Nathan ensures our systems are operational 24/7 to ensure we can support owners around the world with their individual needs. Prior to this, Nathan worked in the Parts Telesales team for over 18 months, where he was renowned internationally for getting owners the correct Parts for their cars.
Neil – Specialist Product Manager
Neil manages our Specialist product line with his primary product range being the R107 SL and models of the same era. With a career spanning a number of main OEMs including Ford and Mercedes, Neil has extensive knowledge of parts for historic and contemporary models, with connections around the world to help SLSHOP source every possible part.
Jack – Heritage Product Manager
Jack is a pivotal piece of SLSHOP’s Parts Store operation. Jack has a penchant for remembering product information and codes, making him the go to knowledge bank for any new and existing staff. Starting out as a customer advisor, Jack quickly progressed to the position of Sales Manager, taking ownership of SLSHOP’s used parts sales. He now manages a number of product lines, including SLSHOP’s Heritage and SportLine performance parts, while also assisting with digital change.
Darren – Inventory Manager
With over 30 years in the motor trade, Darren’s experience spans the manufacturing and distribution industries; with a significant amount of time spent managing supply chains and operations. Darren joined SLSHOP in 2021 to help streamline our processes, enabling us to rapidly expand our supply chains and inventory. As we begin to introduce more parts for more models from the Mercedes-Benz back-catalogue, Darren is going to be very busy indeed…
Charlie – Parts Sales Consultant
The newest member of the Parts Telephone Sales Team, Charlie possesses deep roots grounded in Mercedes-Benz Heritage stemming from his father who has run a Mercedes Specialist for 32 years. Charlie has excelled in his specialist role so far, using his rapidly growing mechanical knowledge of each SL model to support customer parts needs around the globe.
Tom – Parts Sales Manager
Tom has managed the Telephone Sales Department for several years now, facilitating the development of the rest of the team, while also ensuring that SLSHOP’s inventory grows in line with your needs and expectation. Tom’s mantra is to ensure we deliver you the right part for your SL, first time, every time.
Lachlan – Warehouse Operative
One of the younger members of the team, Lachie helps ensure all Parts ordered by you over the telephone and our website are picked, packed and delivered according to your needs. With aspiration to sell classic cars, Lachlan is currently providing his keen eye for detail and commercial mindset to support SLSHOP MarketPlace. All Appraised cars that are sold via our digital MarketPlace platform are managed by Lachlan, enabling classic Mercedes owners in the UK to sell their cars.
Dave – Workshop Parts Advisor
Dave’s relationship with the Mercedes-Benz brand goes back to 1996, when his career in replacement parts began with Mercedes-Benz Stratford. Since then, Dave has remained committed to the brand, moving away from the main dealers and contemporary models in favour of SLSHOP’s commitment to the heritage models. He now helps ensure our Workshops are supplied with all the necessary parts for restoration and servicing work.
Bruce – Sales Director
Bruce needs very little introduction. A formidable force in the classic car world, Bruce’s love affair with the Mercedes-Benz brand started as a young mechanic working on his boss’ company cars. These formative years sparked an obsession that led Bruce to win multiple concours awards, resulting in his first interaction with SLSHOP MD, Sam Bailey. The two started the company together with Bruce initially managing our Workshops before going on to lead and further develop our internationally renowned sales department.
Russell – Customer Liaison Manager
A founding-member of the business and former DJ, Russell helped brother-in-law Bruce Greetham and Sam Bailey form the company, helping design the exceptional customer service we now deliver to owners. Russell’s appreciation for enjoying classic Mercedes ownership coupled with an in-depth understanding of our core models makes him one of our most experienced members of staff.
Olie – Heritage Customer Consultant
If you’ve had your car restored or serviced by us, chances are you’ll have dealt with Ollie.
Like many of the team, Ollie has been in the motor trade since a young age, with his first professional role held at Mercedes-Benz. Ollie’s empathy, understanding and mechanical acumen allow him to understand customer needs, managing their restoration and service work down to the minute.
Tom – MODERN CLASSIC Customer Consultant
Tom has recently joined us from a main dealership where he worked his way up to Workshop Controller. He now manages our Modern Classic Workshop, ensuring customers have a timely and memorable experience.
Bronwen – Owner Services Customer Consultant
A Petrolhead from a young age, Bronwen recalls her South African summer holidays sat atop the bench seat of her father’s 1964 Pontiac with which he towed a caravan. Since this age, cars have featured regularly in Bronwen’s life, culminating in a career with Mercedes-Benz from 2011 until she joined SLSHOP in August 2020. Bronwen is a crucial cog in our sales team, helping ensure all Mercedes-Benz models that move their way through SLSHOP’s showroom are correctly handled from an administration, legal and financial perspective. She works directly with customers to ensure a streamline and memorable customer experience.
Matt – Craftsman
Joining in the Summer of 2021, Matt got stuck into our Heritage projects, joining lead craftsman Dan and Elliott in their pursuit of Pagoda perfection. Matt is our go to servicing and maintenance guru, working on fifties and sixties models that come to us for their annual schedule of care. Matt is currently working to convince his daughter to follow in his footsteps and take up the dying art of classic Mercedes preservation. His career spans Ascari Cars, Aston Martin, Antonov PLC and Dee LTD where he has held multiple roles including Transmission Specialists and Mechanical Product Specialists.
Josh – Apprentice Craftsman
Josh has selected the SLSHOP to carry out his automotive training, learning the ropes in in our Specialist and Heritage Workshops. Josh is rapidly gaining the skills that will enable him to see out a fruitful career preserving classic Mercedes vehicles. You’ll hear Josh before you see him due to the extremely loud MX5 he has modified himself.
Nathan – Crafstman
Working within our Specialist team for over three years, Nathan deals specifically with R107 SL models. His expertise extends to individual restoration projects SLSHOP undertakes, with key milestones including his work on a Black R107 SL restored at the request of the owner’s daughter – a project that reunite her father with his beloved R107 SL revived to ‘as-new’ condition. Like other members of our team, Nathan is a young and enthusiastic member of our Workshops, choosing to expand his rare skills to improve and preserve classic Mercedes for the next fifty years.
Simon – Craftsman
It’s safe to say SLSHOP is as much Simon as Simon is SLSHOP. Starting out at the beginning, Simon has been part of the company’s rapid ascent, contributing to every chapter of success the company has had. All these years later, Simon leads Workshop training and support passing on his wealth of expertise and knowledge on to both staff and customers. Of course, we must mention Simon’s R107 SL expertise – something that can’t be rivalled outside of Mercedes-Benz…
Matt – Apprentice Craftsman
One of our younger apprentices carrying out his essential training to take on the title of ‘craftsman’. Matt recalls growing up dismantling every mechanical item he could put his hands on – a trait that bodes well in the world of classic cars. Matt is becoming an essential cog in SLSHOP’s Workshops, supporting all teams across the heritage and specialist Mercedes model ranges.
Dan – Craftsman
Meet Daniel, master of all things Pagoda, Race, Rally and SportLine. Dan’s middle name should be perfection, simply because he will move mountains to make sure each classic Mercedes-Benz that leaves SLSHOP drives supremely, looks the part and oozes cool. Dan has the added responsibility of training the future generation of craftsmen. One thing you’ll immediately recognise about Dan is that he is always willing to share his knowledge. Without Dan, many of the world’s Pagodas simply wouldn’t be as good as they could.
Eliot – Craftsman
One of the youngest members of our entire Workshop team, Elliott is a pivotal cog in the restoration machine that is SLSHOP. His patient perseverance enables him to restore and maintain a selection of Heritage Mercedes-Benz models from the fifties and sixties eras. Chances are that there will be a Pagoda in the UK that Elliott has perfected. Elliott is a true testament to the young craftsmen the UK depends on to keep a select number of Heritage Mercedes-Benz models on the road.
James – Detailer
One of our two specialist valetor and detailers. Like many at SLSHOP, James is a true Petrolhead with the belief that a classic car should be used and cleaned regularly. James has been responsible for devising our unique car cleaning package, which ensures every vehicle that leaves us has had a thorough interior and exterior revival. James spends hours detailing bodywork to highlight those oh so important classic Mercedes lines.
Steph – Chief Happiness Officer
With the official title of Chief Happiness Officer, Stephanie has the difficult task of ensuring our ever-growing family of employees is taken care of. Stephanie has decades of experience working in the automotive trade, managing large teams at ATS Europe where she primarily worked in marketing. Stephanie now supports staff needs, managing internal communications, customer trips and our print operation.
Steve – Craftsman
Retired rugby player turned Pagoda perfectionist, Steve has been working in the automotive industry for over a decade, utilising his meticulous mindset to perfect a variety of different vehicles. Steve works on the Heritage team, primarily dealing with the servicing and restoration work of Pagodas and other models from the fifties and sixties era. Steve believes in his craft and hopes that more people will learn the art of classic car perfection.
Stefan – Craftsman
A key member of our Modern Classics team, Stefan works alongside Callum to restore and service models from 1989 onwards. Stefan and Callum are instrumental in ensuring that the models often neglected by main dealers, are cared for with the future in mind. Stefan will be instrumental in keeping your modern classic on the road for you to enjoy both experientially and financially.
Paul – Craftsman
Paul is an essential member of our Specialist Workshop with a unique and rich history in the automotive industry. Paul worked on the R107 SL early in his career, learning his craft from the experts at Mercedes-Benz in the late 1980s. Paul watched the R107 SL transition into the technology focused R129 SL, giving him intricate knowledge not found at any other classic Mercedes-Benz specialist or main dealer. Paul is our resident R230 SL expert and will be leading a new team dedicated to this model.
Luke – Craftsman
Luke’s passion stems from a long family lineage of craftsmen. With his father inspiring him to take an interest in the mechanicals of a range of vehicles at a young age – including SLs – Luke quickly went on to work in the automotive industry and gained five years professional experience before joining SLSHOP. Luke is now responsible for a range of restoration projects at SLSHOP; also working on vehicles of the seventies and eighties era that arrive for servicing or maintenance work.
Rob – Craftsman
Rob, restoration specialist and keeper of the most intricate structural details of the R107 SL – his years of fabrication experience working with SLs means he possesses the most specific measurements not available to most other workshops. Rob’s keen eye can suss out a compromised Bulkhead or skewed panel in seconds, with his mantra being that any fabrication work he carries out must be ‘as new’.
Joe – Detailer
Following in the footsteps of his father, Russell and Uncle Bruce, Joe joined SLSHOP after leaving school to help manage SLSHOP’s detailing and car cleaning package. With an excellent eye for detail and appreciation for how precious every vehicle in SLSHOP’s custody is, Joe revives the bodywork and interior of vehicles from the fifties through to the modern day. As a young man in a digital age, Joe is helping inspire his generation to admire and preserve the future of classic Mercedes.
Francois – Customer Acquisition & Retention Manager
Joining at the beginning of 2021, Francois’ manages our marketing initiatives, devising campaign ideas to help keep you connected with SLSHOP. After 12 months into the job, Francois is now helping develop a range of new initiatives, including SLSHOP Membership and SLSHOP MarketPlace. If you see a social media post, think of Francois and like, comment and share.
Sam – Founder & Managing Director
Sam started SLSHOP just after the millennium, leaving a job in insurance to turn his passion for the Mercedes-Benz brand into a business. Working with his father to begin with, the company steadily expanded into the business it now is. Find Sam racing his MX5 on the weekend or gliding through The Cotswolds in his Pagoda.
Callum – Craftsman
Callum has been with the business since 2009 when he joined as a very keen young mechanic. Dedicated to the business with a 100-mile commute, Callum has developed a truly rounded set of skills and whilst he looks after R107, W113 and R129’s on a daily basis, he has been instrumental in SportLine and is our resident R129 diagnostic specialist.
JAMES – SPECIALIST CUSTOMER CONSULTANT
James manages our Specialist Workshop, dealing with vehicles from the 70s and 80s era. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge from main dealers where he managed service departments.