Kwik Fit
Kwik Fit is a car servicing and repair company in the United Kingdom, specialising in tyres, brakes, exhausts, MOT testing, car servicing, air conditioning recharge, oil changes. As of August 2020, there are over six hundred centres of Kwik Fit within the United Kingdom.[1]
Subsidiary | |
Industry | Tyre retailing and vehicle servicing |
Founded | 1971Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom) | in (
Headquarters | Letchworth, England, UK |
Key people | Paul Boulton (Company Director) Mark Lynott (Company Director) Mark Slade (Company Director) |
Parent | Itochu Corporation |
Website | www |
History
Sir Tom Farmer opened the first Kwik Fit centre in McDonald Road, Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1971. In May 1995, Kwik Fit Insurance, part of Kwik Fit Financial Services, was formed, and has since grown to become one of the leading car insurance distributors in the United Kingdom.[2]
In October 1999, Kwik Fit had grown to over two thousand centres throughout Europe, and Farmer sold the company to the Ford Motor Company for US$1.6bn.[3] A decision by Ford to concentrate on its core business, led to the sale of Kwik Fit in August 2002, to CVC Capital Partners. In June 2005, Kwik Fit was sold for £800m, to PAI Partners, a leading French based private equity firm.
The Kwik Fit Financial Services arm of the business, was sold by PAI to Fortis Insurance UK, now Ageas (UK) Limited, for a figure of £215m in July 2010.[4] The tyre retailing and service centre business was bought by ITOCHU Corporation in March 2011.[5][6]
Advertising
First shown in 1984, the "You Can't Get Better Than a Kwik-Fit Fitter" adverts were broadcast on the main television channels in the United Kingdom. In 2008, the Kwik Fit fitter returned to television, with the "You'll Be Amazed at What We Do" campaign.[7]
Training
Kwik Fit received its first national training award in 1990. In January 2009, Kwik Fit was awarded Beacon status from the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) for its further educations training programmes. This was given following a successful Ofsted inspection, in which programmes were graded 'outstanding'.[8]
See also
References
- "MoT Testing && Servicing". kwik-fit.com.
- "Kwik-Fit sees motor insurance as new base". heraldscotland.com. 3 May 1995. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- "Remaking Ford", Business Week, 11 October 1999
- "Fortis completes Kwik Fit acquisition". Retrieved 16 September 2012.
- "ITOCHU reaches agreement to acquire Kwik-Fit Group, UK No.1 tyre retailer". itochu.co.jp. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012.
- "PAI - 404 Page not found" (PDF). paipartners.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2011.
- "The Kwik Fit fitter returns - Marketing Week". www.marketingweek.com. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
- "Customer Satisfaction". Kwik Fit. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
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