10:26 am, November 2, 2018
SOUTH of England dealer group Brayleys has set its sights on achieving future growth following investment from a Dubai-based conglomerate.
AW Rostamani has acquired a majority stake in Brayleys for an undisclosed sum and will lend its expertise and vision to chart future expansion for the company. Paul Brayley, the founder and managing director of Brayleys, will continue to run the business in his current role alongside his existing management team, supported by two senior executives of AW Rostamani, who have joined the board.
As part of the sale, which was brokered by David Kendrick and Paul Daly, partners at UHY Hacker Young, Brayley retains a shareholding in the company he established in 2003 with a Honda franchise in St Albans. The group, which will continue to trade as Brayleys, has since expanded to comprise 10 dealerships across the south of England, representing Honda, Kia, Mazda, Renault and Dacia.
With annual revenues in excess of $2billion, AW Rostamani operates in a number of industry sectors across the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Its flagship subsidiary, AWR Arabian Automobiles, is the exclusive distributor for Nissan, Infiniti and Renault in Dubai and Northern Emirates, totalling 21 showrooms and 16 service centres. The company’s acquisition of a majority shareholding in Brayleys represents its first investment in the UK motor retail sector.
Internationally respected
Paul Brayley said: ‘As a family-run business like Brayleys, AW Rostamani understood our customer service-led culture and principal values perfectly, so we are delighted that such a highly successful and internationally respected business has chosen Brayleys as its first automotive investment in the UK.
‘We’re excited at the prospect of building our network further in the years ahead with existing franchise partners, as well as exploring potential new manufacturer opportunities, not to mention the enhancement of career development potential for our team of almost 250 staff.’
Khalid Al Rostamani, vice chairman of AW Rostamani, said: ‘The acquisition of a majority stake in Brayleys is underlined by our strategy to expand and build our business in the UK, a key automotive market. We have been assessing various options for investments and identified Brayleys as a perfect fit to our vision.
‘We will continue to explore new opportunities to help enhance our presence in the UK and also focus on leveraging significant growth opportunities with Brayleys.’
Paul Brayley (seated left) is pictured at Brayley Honda St Albans with Khalid Al Rostamani, Vice Chairman of AW Rostamani (seated right), Marcos Quadros (standing left), Chief Financial Officer and Michel Ayat, CEO Automotive, AW Rostamani.
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