How Aubrey Automobiles is shaking up the restoration industry

The work will go much deeper than those party pieces, though. For evidence, just look to Aubrey 001, which received a nut-and-bolt restoration, a left-hand-drive conversion, an engine-and-gearbox rebuild, new suspension, new brakes and a galvanised chassis, before being fitted with wenge wood decking, a drinks cabinet, Connolly leather upholstery, a modern entertainment system and eight different roof configurations for its new life in the Swiss Alps.

The keys to Aubrey’s promising start have been word of mouth, plus a dedicated team of five staff and Peck’s brother Elliot, who digitally designs the builds (“without him, it would be hard to demonstrate the vision”), all aged under 30.

But it hasn’t been plain sailing, explains Peck: “When I first started, I’d quote for each part of a build. For one build, just for the interior we got six quotes, and there was sometimes a £10,000 difference. For every part of that build, we had huge jumps in costs. 

I wouldn’t like to make assumptions, but I feel that as I was a girl, and especially as someone new in the industry, they thought I didn’t know how much it might cost.”This followed issues she experienced even earlier in her career while sourcing classics. 

“There were two types of men who answered the phones: one who would patronise me and talk to me like I knew absolutely nothing and one who was genuinely just kind and nice and would try to help me,” says Peck. “Sadly, it was one or the other, and there were very few of the second.”

This is changing, believes Peck, although not without some sacrifice. You need to “adapt quickly” and overcompensate to gain respect, she says when asked what advice she has for women looking to join the industry. “The biggest thing I learned is you have to talk to someone as they would talk to you,” adds Peck. “Just don’t be shy. You have to be really confident and don’t be knocked down. If someone says no or if someone tries to rip you off, don’t take it. Just keep going.”

The tide appears to be turning, says Peck, as more women enter the industry – and she’s playing her part, with women soon to make up half of the Aubrey team. She says: “It’s all happening very quickly. Already I’ve noticed in the last few years that there are more women coming in, and the fact that I’m now looking to hire a 21-year-old [woman] is shocking to me.

“The more women who do something, the more men are going to respect them, and they are hopefully going to start levelling out.”

Aubrey’s future plan is nothing if not ambitious. A new, bespoke workshop is on the shopping list as Peck looks to diversify the firm away from restoring 4x4s (“we needed to establish ourselves with a focus”), with sports cars next on the agenda. These are another of her loves; her daily driver is a Maserati Granturismo.