THE bank manager knew Karl Price meant business when the 18-year-old asked for a £100,000 loan. He needed it to buy the garage he had loved since he first got a job polishing cars and making tea.

Unbelievably, the apprentice mechanic gathered together enough funds from the bank and other sources to buy the thriving company from his former boss who recognised that the raw business talent, dedication and enthusiasm could take his protege far.

Since then, Karl, 22, has grown L&M International into one of the foremost specialists of sporty Italian automotive. Based in a tiny backwater of High Wycombe called The Ebor Works at Chapel Lane, L&M has earned a name for precision mechanics. Its performance enhancing chips' as well as tailored induction cooling systems are praised by motoring journalists who give them plenty of space in glossy auto magazines.

Not bad for a lad who suffered from acute dyslexia and needed special equipment and help when he attended the Wye Valley School at Bourne End. His teachers acknowledge he was a bright lad and they thought he would go far.

Former owner Craig Clark who now lives abroad said: "I first met Karl at the age of 14 when he started working at L&M International cleaning the workshops after school. Even then he had an interest in all things mechanical and often offered unsolicited advice to the technicians. From this time, Karl showed an ability to look at problems from different angles.

"He has never let his disability stand in his way. His determination and will to succeed always brings him through. Since purchasing the company, Karl has continued to concentrate on providing high levels of customer care and I think this is reflected in L&M's ever-growing client base."

Karl's latest coup is the negotiation of a contract with German manufacturer Novitec which produces performance products and body styling for Italian Cars. The Wycombe business will be sole UK importer.

It was one of the many entrepreneurial ideas he has to build the business. He generally gets inspiration in the night and was so fed up with not being able to switch off' that he invested in a tape recorder so that he could record his ideas day or night. He believes the only way to grow the business is by making his ideas come to fruition.

Although his finely-tuned vehicles are hot stuff on and off the rally circuit Karl is just as proud of the fact that customers rave about his customer care. He says satisfaction ratings are hugely important to him and his mechanics.