Member Article

Brayleys expands with acquisition of Thames Honda Group

Hertfordshire based dealer group, Brayleys, has more than doubled its Honda portfolio by adding four more outlets through the acquisition of Thames Honda, for an undisclosed sum.

The purchase marks the first organic growth for Brayleys since Dubai-based AW Rostamani Group became its majority shareholder at the end of 2018, which heralded the conglomerate’s entry into the UK automotive sector.

The Thames Honda businesses, located in Ruislip, Ewell, Leatherhead and Thames Ditton, join Brayleys’ three Honda franchises in Enfield, St Albans and Hemel Hempstead.

In additional to its seven Honda dealerships, making it one of the Japanese manufacturer’s largest UK retailers, Brayleys also represents Kia, Mazda, Renault and Dacia at 15 sales points throughout the Home Counties, Greater London and Thames Valley. The company achieved record turnover of £120 million in 2018.

Having founded Brayleys 16 years ago with a single Honda outlet in St Albans, Managing Director Paul Brayley continues to run the business with his long-serving management team, supported by two senior executives of AW Rostamani Group, who joined the board six months ago.

Commenting on the acquisition of Thames Honda, Paul Brayley said:

“For over 13 years Thames Honda has developed into a successful Honda retailer serving customers across the South East and North West London territories. The company has built up a good reputation and shares Brayleys’ philosophy of putting customers and staff at the heart of the business.

“Our purchase of the group comes at an exciting time in Honda’s product cycle with several new hybrid and pure electric model launches starting this year, so I am looking forward to welcoming all the Thames Honda staff into the Brayleys family and further strengthening our partnership with the Honda brand.”

Khalid Al Rostamani, Chairman and CEO of AW Rostamani Group said: “The acquisition of Thames Honda is the second step in our focused strategy to build our business in the UK, which is a key automotive market for AW Rostamani Group. In developing Brayleys with Paul and his team, we will continue to assess opportunities for future investment, which we consider to be a perfect fit with our vision for growth.”

With annual revenues in excess of $2billion, AW Rostamani Group 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. Its expansion into the UK with a majority stake in Brayleys in 2018 formed part of the organisation’s goal to strengthen its global footprint through strategic acquisitions.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Blackbird Communications .