Brayleys acquires first Hyundai dealership in St Albans

Brayleys has bought its first Hyundai dealership in St Albans from family-owned business Coupers for an undisclosed sum.

The city centre site has been Hertfordshire’s authorised dealer for Hyundai for more than 30 years and will add Hyundai to Brayleys’ portfolio of brands, including Kia, Honda, Mazda, Renault and Dacia.

AW Rostamani Group now owns 100% of the business Paul Brayley founded in 2003. He was appointed CEO of both Brayleys and West Way Nissan, which was recently acquired the Dubai-based group.

Commenting on the acquisition of Hyundai St Albans, which was brokered by automotive consultancy MotorVise, Brayley, said: “I’m delighted at the acquisition of Coupers, which has a long and proud heritage in St Albans. It has extra meaning for me as it was also the starting location for Brayleys 20 years ago, when I took over the Honda franchise in the city. The addition of Hyundai will further broaden our customer reach across the Home Counties and strengthens our position as one of the largest privately-owned automotive retailers in the South East.”

Paul Kendall, managing director of Coupers, said the company’s 24 staff would transfer over to Brayleys, under the terms of the purchase: “It is very much business as usual at the dealership in Catherine Street, and I know both the team and valued customers will be in great hands with Brayleys, who will continue our tradition of delivering exceptional customer service.”

Earlier this year, Brayleys also made its debut ranking in the list of Best Workplaces compiled by Great Place To Work® UK based on feedback provided by staff about overall health and wellbeing, both inside and outside the workplace.

On achieving this, Brayley said: “Brayleys takes great pride in making the business feel very much like a family. To have that officially recognised publicly, based on the views of your team, is a fantastic achievement for the company and we look forward to welcoming the staff from Coupers into the group.”