Motor care rivalry steps up a gear

By Peter Ranscombe
Published on Sunday 19 February 2012 00:00

COMPETITION is hotting up in the car servicing sector, with one of Kwik Fit’s biggest landlords signing a £39 million deal to redevelop some of its sites and Fife-based chain D&G Autocare eyeing an expansion into Edinburgh.

GE Prem KF – a joint venture set up by New York-listed General Electric and Glasgow-based Paradigm Real Estate Managers – will today announce that it has secured the three-year facility from Royal Bank of Scotland.

The group, which acts as landlord for about 100 of Kwik Fit’s 570 garages in the UK, is expected to use the cash to refurbish existing garages and possibly buy further sites.

Paradigm was set up in 2001 as the private equity arm of property firm Montagu Evans and emerged as a separate entity in 2004. The company’s other investment partners include London-listed property giant British Land, John Boyle’s Hamilton Portfolio and Sir Tom Hunter’s West Coast Capital.

News of the funding for Kwik Fit’s landlord comes as Dunfermline-based D&G Autocare unveils plans to push into the Scottish capital for the first time.

D&G was set up in 2004 by David Hunter and George Simpson, who had worked together at Kwik Fit and Farmer Autocare before setting up shop on their own.

The pair already own eight garages across Fife and Central Scotland and are now targeting Edinburgh.

“We lost out on one potential site to a national chain but now we’re looking at others,” said Simpson. “We already service some Edinburgh clients from our Inverkeithing and Livingston garages but now we’re looking for a site in the city itself.”

Hunter and Simpson have also spread their reach beyond Scotland by setting up a website to sell tyres, which are then fitted by local firms.

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marthajsalisbury

Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 06:11 AM

It all boils down to a company's actual experience with a particular vehicle or category of drivers. That is why it pays to shop around for insurance especially at "Clearance Auto" now.

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