Blackcircles UK was founded by Mike Welch of Liverpool in 2002 as an online tyre retailer and has offices in the Scottish town of Peebles and Edinburgh. Franchising services began in 2006 which allows independent operators to sell through Blackcircles UK inventory system. Its customer base now numbers around 100,000. Blackcircles UK was bought out by Michelin in 2015 for $75 million dollars. Mike Welch was appointed to the Queen`s OBE New Year`s honours list in January 2016 and has dedicated himself to charitable activities focused on adoptions.