The purchase, which includes West Way sites in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Rochdale, Stockport, Altrincham, Coventry, Stourbridge, Oldham and Manchester, plus Head Office and group support functions, was completed at the end of October, with existing employees being transferred to the new investors.
Andrew Humberstone, managing director of Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd., said: “AW Rostamani Group is a high performing global partner that has worked extensively with Nissan in other markets, so we are delighted to be welcoming them here to the UK and supporting their continued growth plans.
“It’s a great time to be joining Nissan too, thanks to a huge variety of new model launches, including the new X-Trail and award-winning ARIYA and Qashqai, plus hybrid and electric powertrains, unique technologies like e-POWER, and across both passenger car and LCV sectors. We look forward to a strong and prosperous partnership with AWR in the years ahead.”
AW Rostamani Group is a market leading, family-owned, global company with divisions spanning automotive, logistics, real estate, travel, lifestyle, lighting and investment. Established in 1968, its automotive business, Arabian Automobiles, has been exclusive distributors for Nissan and its Alliance partners Infiniti and Renault in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.
Khalid Al Rostamani, Chairman of AW Rostamani Group, said: “We are very excited about the partnership between AWR Group and West Way, which comes as part of our on-going strategy to expand our portfolio in the UK. Being a partner of Nissan for many years with a strong, long-standing relationship, we are very pleased to be working together to bring our shared expertise and core values to the UK market.”
Jon Roberts, Managing Director of West Way, said: “We are delighted to be able to share the news of the acquisition of West Way by such a prominent global partner as AW Rostamani Group. Not only is this partnership a perfect cultural fit with both businesses sharing many core values but it also allows the West Way group to build on its success in more recent years by forming a significant part of AW Rostamani Group’s UK presence.”
The divestment of the West Way sites, announced earlier this year, is part of a wider strategic move for Nissan, designed to meet industry challenges and build a sustainable business with its partners for the future, while remaining focussed on delivering an excellent customer experience.
Nissan’s Ideal Network Plan recognises the need for Nissan to evolve its business operations to tackle the future transition to electrification, increased digitisation of the customer journey and changes to consumer needs.
Under the new plan Nissan will have a UK representation of around 140 sales sites and approximately 180 service centres. This will ensure an excellent customer sales experience and a service proposition that is very similar to today.