Ford supplier mountune hires KPMG for sale of UK business
Essex based Ford tuner Mountune is looking for a buyer or investment partner for its UK operation, after its founder resigned from his role as director. The firm has appointed Big Four firm KPMG to manage the sale process.
Mountune is a UK headquartered company specialising in the customisation of Ford motor vehicles. Known as a ‘tuner’, the firm is one of only a few which can tweak Focuses and Fiestas without sacrificing the manufacturer’s warranty, as an official partner of Ford. With a head office in Brentwood, the firm also has a facility in Los Angeles, California, Mountune has 40 years of experience providing race engines globally to professional trophy winning race teams, while developing a robust aftermarket performance parts business.
While this has seen Mountune build a loyal and affluent customer base, selling globally through their online platform and dealers, however, with the UK’s car market having already been on the downward incline before the Covid-19 lockdown decimated new car sales, the firm looks to have suffered a knock-on downturn. Panic stations were first manned when founder and technical director, David Mountain, left his position in July.
As reported by Autocar, in the financial year ending December 2017, it recorded a trading loss of £107,429, while it has not published any figures since, suggesting its decline continued. While Mountain remains on Mountune’s payroll on a part-time basis, Andrew Williams has subsequently taken over as director, while the company has opened itself up for investment, as it bids to turn things around.
Mountune released a short statement confirming that KPMG had been appointed to help organise its affairs, and find a backer – either in the form of a full sale or as capital investment into the current structure. Following a write-up on the matter by CarThrottle, a spokesperson for Influence Associates, which represents Mountune, reportedly contacted the news outlet to deny that the company was in administration, stating that KPMG are simply helping Mountune find new investment.
As speculated by Car Dealer Magazine, one possible outcome could be the purchase of Mountune by Ford itself – a precedent set by the likes of BMW’s purchase of tuner Alpina, or Mercedes-Benz and AMG. However, as Mountune’s partnership currently extends only to Ford models sold in Britain, while Ford’s home market in the US is already occupied by companies such as Roush which command more sales, this seems like a distant prospect.
