GSF Car Parts has been sold to private equity firm Epiris and the Ahluwalia Family Office, as LKQ Corporation completes the terms of its acquisition of Canadian firm Uni-Select.
The factor has announced the appointment of Sukhpal Ahluwalia as Executive Chairman and Steve Horne as Chief Executive Officer of GSF Car Parts. The sale comes as part of LKQ Corporation’s agreement to divest the factor group following the purchase of its Canadian parent company, a more that helped the deal move through the Competitions and Market Authority’s legislative checks.
Ahluwalia returns
Epiris has bought GSF Car Parts as part of its Epiris Fund III. The move marks its fourth investment in this round, following Delinian, LoneStar and most recently, Pure Cremation. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Meanwhile, the co-investment marks Ahluwalia’s return to the automotive aftermarket. Having founded Euro Car Parts in 1978, he scaled the business from a single car accessories store in London into the largest car parts distributor and retailer in the UK, with 260 branches nationwide and annual sales of over £1.2 billion.
Ahluwalia and Horne, who worked together at Euro Car Parts, have reunited to take on a factor group with 180 stores across the UK and Ireland, and with thousands of automotive repair chains independent garages and retail customers on its books.
Changes for the better
“This is a hugely exciting time for GSF Car Parts, and I look forward to working with all of our valued team members, customers, and global suppliers as we start on this new journey together,” commented Sukhpal Ahluwalia. “I have a huge respect for the GSF team, including the business’ hard-working branch team members and head office colleagues. Relationships have always been at the centre of GSF’s success, and that’s something that we’re going to double down on.”
Steve Horne added: “We will turn the business into a fast-growth, sales-focused company with our customers, suppliers, and team members at its heart. This growth plan will deliver opportunities across the industry: new sales channels for our valued global suppliers, added convenience for our important customers, and new roles for our knowledgeable team members.”
The new team plans to add a significant number of new branches to the business over the coming years, improve the branch experience, strengthen its e-commerce offering, invest in its catalogue and IT, and rejuvenate its delivery fleet. The business will also stake out its leadership on sustainability by extending its range of products for electric vehicles, as well as investing in new technology to reduce the company’s own emissions and energy footprint.
“This is another classic Epiris deal: a corporate carve-out of a business with a strong position in an attractive, growth market,” stated Alex Fortescue, Managing Partner at Epiris. “We see the opportunity to grow the business significantly with an acceleration of existing plans coupled with the fresh perspective we are able to bring.”
