Mike Welch

Mike Welch OBE (born 28 September 1978) is a British entrepreneur, and founder of online tyre retailer Blackcircles.com.

Born in Liverpool, England, Welch left school aged 16 and began working as a tyre fitter. He quit in 1996, just weeks after joining, to launch his first tyre retail business, MW Motorforce. He ran the company from a room in his parents’ house with a mobile phone and help from a £500 grant from The Prince's Trust.

Welch moved to Edinburgh after being head-hunted by Sir Tom Farmer to work as Kwik-Fit’s New Business and e-Commerce Manager in 2000. He left the company two years later after he was told he would have to wait 30–40 years to make chief executive.

Blackcircles.com is now a significant player in the UK tyre retail market, generating sales of around $100m annually and looking after over 2,000,000 customers.

In 2015 Blackcircles.com was acquired by Michelin, the largest tyre manufacturer in the world at that time. Welch has left his position as CEO but continues to advise the board as a consultant.

In addition he has taken on advisory roles with Atterley.com, a fashion retailers network, and has been appointed to the board of SimpleTire, a US online tire retailer.

Mike set up Blackcircles.com in 2001 with a first year turnover of £10,000. Today Blackcircles.com has grown to be a significant player in the UK tyre retail market, generating sales of around $100m annually and looking after over 2,000,000 customers. The company is still headquartered in the Scottish Borders town of Peebles.

In 2011 Tesco Tyres.com was launched, a joint venture between Blackcircles.com and Tesco Plc, the worlds second largest retailer.

Sir Terry Leahy the former CEO of Tesco Plc is a shareholder in Blackcircles.com. The chairman of Blackcircles.com is Graeme Bissett, former Group Finance Director of Kwik-Fit.

Welch has won a number of awards over the years including;

• Shell Livewire Entrepreneur of the year
• HSBC Start-up Stars
• The National Business Awards Entrepreneur of the year
• Ernst & Young Emerging Entrepreneur of the year
• Ernst & Young Young Entrepreneur of the year
• BT Essence of The Entrepreneur Award
• BT Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year
• SBAAT Young Business Achiever 2011
• Business Insider Young Business Leader of the Year 2012
• The RSE Henry Duncan Medal 2017
• Honorary Doctorate for Business from Edinburgh Napier University 2016

Mike was appointed an OBE in the 2015 New Year honours list for services to business and voluntary services to adoption & fostering.