DWS Bodyworks is being brought back into private ownership with a management buyout for an undisclosed sum led by new owner and original founder of the company Dave Smithyes and the DWS executive team.

The management team says that the new structure will enable it to expand into new sectors including fleet, retail, light commercial vehicle and truck, and 24-hour MOT and servicing.

Under the new ownership, the executive team will be reconfigured to include: Dave Smithyes as executive chairman; Paul Pancham as chief executive; Bob Florence as commercial director; Scott Thompson as finance director; and Jackie Jones as organisational development director.

Smithyes said: “Now is the right time to re-ignite our business by reintroducing our core values that focus on engaging proactively with all our people, treating everyone as an individual and enabling the business as a whole to achieve its full potential.”