Dear Customer,

As you may know Mr Gleave went into hospital with a leg infection in November. After a couple of months doctors eventually found the cause to be an aggressive cancer. Mr Gleave received chemotherapy which appeared to be going well. A new scan has showed the cancer has spread significantly and is now untreatable. Mr Gleave is in good spirits, but the next few weeks will be very tough for both him and the family.

I have tried my best to continue as normal since November, but this can’t continue otherwise I will be putting my own health and the business at risk. This would result in no service at all. Knowing my father would return has kept me going the last seven months. This sadly will no longer be the case. It is simply not possible to offer the same service long term without the support of my father, and the next few weeks will be emotionally very difficult. Supply of spare parts is a highly skilled job and I have no time to train staff in the current operation. I am currently only able to process orders and do little else despite working evenings and weekends. The two weeks we were closed I spent much of them working. This is unsustainable long term.

I have discussed with my father how best to proceed. To continue to provide as many parts to as many customers as possible we will operate as an online store only (Monday 10/06/2024). Parts not on the website will temporarily be unavailable to purchase. This maximises the orders we can process as it is less labour intensive. This is not how I want to operate, and I know it will let down a lot of customers that have been with us for decades, but I am left with no choice. This will hopefully give me time to add more items to our website and catch up on all the tasks I am behind on like ordering new stock. If you have a credit account with us but can pay by card, please pay by card as this significantly reduces admin. If you are struggling to find an item, please message us on our WhatsApp messaging (0207 2531 345) and we will send a link or make it a priority to add to the site.

We are a small operation with just two staff including myself. With just two of us here you may find we have to close unexpectedly for short periods over the coming weeks.

I don’t know anyone that loves their work as much as my father. He came into the shop to briefly visit the other week when things were looking promising. It was clear to see he was happy to be back in a place he loves. He thoroughly enjoyed his work and helping customers as best he could. I could see he was itching to come back to work because he loved it so much. It is devastating to be losing a best friend, father and colleague all at the same time.

If you would like to send a message to Mr Gleave, please email sales@gleaveandco.com or message on our WhatsApp 0207 253 1345. I will forward them to him.

Many thanks for your continued support and understanding.

Luke Gleave.