In a moment of realisation the Japanese owners of the Kwik Fit Group, the Itochu Corporation, recognise that Kwik is actually spelt 'Quick' and in a fit of pique are looking for buyers of the business. Apparently they just didn't get it. The urban dictionary defines the word 'kwik' as describing how fast something goes down under pressure ... and we have absolutely forbidden Neil to have anything more to do with this 'breaking news' report with his sewer of a mind. (But, do you really want to name a tyre business after a word meaning 'to go down quickly under pressure'? Or is it a case of 'egg and chicken' in relation to the urban dictionary, which almost certainly did not exist in the Oxford Dictionary in 2011?)
The last published accounts reported that the Kwik Fit business turned over £481.7 million, up from £454.8 million 12 months earlier. Operating profit also climbed to £29.2 million from £22.3 million, while pre-tax profit increased to £54.4 million from £18.6 million. It continued a refurbishment programme in 2019, started eight years earlier and all appeared to be rosy amongst the rubber.
Itochu bought the business for a reported £637 million in 2011, attracted by the fact it was the market leader in both the UK and Holland, as well as having a leadership position in the fleet business segment. However, they now appear to have tired (you expected that, right?) of the business and have hired bankers to explore a sale amid what can be properly termed as a 'challenging period' for the UK's automotive industry, as well as the fact that Neil refuses to change the tyres on his Fiat Punto until he can actually hear metal against tarmac.
