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Kwik-Fit is by far the largest workshop and tire retail chain in Great Britain with 750 locations. The original information about a possible sale of the chain founded by Sir Tom Farmer in 1971 was brought to Sky News, where an imminent sale was described as “very likely” according to insiders.
The TV station reported that the Japanese Kwik-Fit owner Itochu had commissioned experts from the investment bank Nomura to identify “strategic options” for the future of Kwik-Fit. European Tire Enterprises Ltd. (ETEL) – the European holding company that holds the shares in Kwik-Fit as well as that of the tire wholesaler Stapleton’s Tire Services, which also belongs to Itochu – and Kwik-Fit itself did not want to comment on the reports. Sir Tom Farmer had sold Kwik-Fit to Ford in 1999 for a billion pounds. After that, the chain changed hands several times. Itochu bought Kwik-Fit nine years ago. On the other hand, there are no well-founded statements about possible buyers, only guesses. They see Bridgestone at the top of a short list of potential buyers, as the Japanese manufacturer had bid in the last two Kwik-Fit sales.
Reifenpresse.de and Tyrepress.com 21.09.2020
