HiQ Decides Against Management Buyout

Mark Brickhill paid tribute to the quality and vision of the Management Buyout Team’s proposal: “The team presented a thoroughly professional bid, concept and business model. An announcement on specific future roles will be made shortly, with announcements on the individual regional franchise partnerships to follow after the due diligence process with each successful applicant.” The ongoing franchise programme aims to accelerate the growth of the nationwide tyre and vehicle servicing network by signing long-term franchise agreements for all the parent-company owned HiQ stores in England and Wales, extending the highly successful model that currently operates in Northern Ireland, Scotland and in some areas of England. Mark Brickhill, Group Managing Director stated: “Since announcing the plans on 12 March, there was a high level of interest from ambitious businesses wanting to join us in investing in the future growth of HiQ. On the 16 May closing date we had more bidders than the total number of franchise regions.

This puts us in a strong position to make choices that ensure we have committed franchisees on board who share our vision in strengthening the network” Over the coming weeks, Goodyear Dunlop will work through a due diligence process with the successful chosen bidders for each HiQ region: “We will carefully evaluate each bid to ensure each franchisee has a strong business plan to grow the network by winning and servicing new consumer and fleet business. These plans have to complement existing relationships that Goodyear Dunlop has with Approved Dealers and existing HiQ Franchisees in each region, again to maximise growth” added Mark. Recently, Goodyear Dunlop has invested heavily in HiQ, with the formation of a training academy and an increase in marketing investment, including title sponsorship of the British Touring Car Championship. “The increased profile of HiQ, and our long term commitment to the network, has played a major role in attracting quality franchise investment. Our skilled and experienced associates are a major contributor to the success of HiQ and the franchise route offers the best opportunity for our professional team members to progress their careers with a growing business,” stated Mark Brickhill.