CVC, which bought the company from Ford in 2002 in a £330 million deal, has sold the business to Speedy 1, a company controlled by French equity firm PAI Partners, for £800 million.
A PAI spokeswoman said: ‘It is early days yet but we see growth potential across Europe, particularly in the UK and Germany, and for fleets it will be business as usual as both head office and the management team stay the same.’
The deal is still subject to certain regulatory and other approvals.
CVC partner Rob Lucas said: ‘Kwik-Fit has been an excellent investment for CVC. Since our acquisition in 2002, the company has been transformed and is now delivering substantially improved financial performance. Kwik-Fit is well positioned for its next phase of growth.’
PAI partner Hamish Mackenzie said: ‘Kwik-Fit has exceptional brand recognition in its key markets and benefits from significant growth prospects as a market leader. The company enjoys a high reputation for trust, reliability and value for money; PAI intends to support the management team to further strengthen Kwik-Fit’s leading positions in the fast-fit European market.’
Kwik-Fit, which was launched in 1971, has more than 1,900 outlets across the UK, Netherlands, France and Germany and employs 11,000 staff. Its turnover last year was £854 million.
It trades as Speedy in France and the Netherlands and as Pit-Stop in Germany. PAI is a European private equity form with offices in Paris, London, Madrid and Milan, specialising in managing and advising on buyout funds.
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