Young businessman Nick Thomson has gone full throttle with a new business concept — a used bike dealership.

And Scooter Mart offers services like a guaranteed repurchase scheme for shorter-term residents, with a guaranteed repurchase price, as well as a trade-in programme so owners can upgrade to another model.

Mr Thomson, a former accountant at professional services firm KPMG, launched Scooter Mart with business partner Wayne Burgess.

Mr Thomson, 25, said: “I’ve always been fascinated by local small business and the opportunities for entrepreneurship in Bermuda.

“While working at KPMG, I noticed one opportunity in particular, which was the difficulty my colleagues went through buying a motorbike when they arrived in Bermuda and subsequently selling it when they had to leave the island.

“I found that the process is quite complicated, especially for people with no prior knowledge of bikes or people who do not have the time to go through the various tasks required when buying a second-hand bike, like transfer testing, insurance documentation, TCD registration and so on.

“Through this observation and the support of my family, friends and colleagues, I felt that a used bike dealership could be a great service for Bermuda and in particular our expatriate community.”

Mr Thomson added that business ran in his blood — his father is Stephen Thomson, owner of Mailboxes Unlimited, US Express and Just Shirts dry-cleaners, and also chairman of Bermuda Press (Holdings) Ltd, the parent company of The Royal Gazette, while mother Norma Thomson successfully launched Nonna’s Kitchen in Hamilton.

Scooter Mart is based in Paget’s Lovers Lane, the former site of his father’s Paget Dry Cleaners, opened at the end of last month — and Mr Thomson said business had been brisk.

He added: “The response and feedback has been far beyond what we expected. People love our prices, our convenience and our customer service.

“We care about each of our customers and we go above and beyond to make sure that they are exceptionally happy with us, our product and our service.

“People can truly tell that we care and I think that’s what makes the difference.”

Mr Thomson said the aim of Scooter Mart was to make buying and selling pre-owned scooters easy and reliable.

People selling bikes can have their machines appraised within ten minutes, without the need to advertise and hold multiple viewings and with payments in cash.

He added that all pre-owned bikes undergo a tough 42-point inspection and come with a three-week engine reliability warranty, as well a year’s free 24/7 roadside assistance for bikes insured through BF&M.

The guaranteed repurchase programme means buyers can pick up a bike and sell it back for a pre-agreed price when they leave the island, rather than sign up for a more expensive long-term rental.

Mr Thomson said: “When buying a used bike, people love that we do all the paperwork in-house.”

He added: “For example, for a period of six months of owning a bike, we will contractually agree to buy it back from them for only $600 less than we sold it to them for.”

In addition to a range of used bikes, the firm also offers brand new Vespa VXL125s and Yamaha GT125s.