- Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Ahluwalia reunited with Steve Horne, who was appointed as the chief executive officer, as both had worked in Euro Car Parts which the former had founded in 1978.
By: Shubham Ghosh
GSF Car Parts, the second largest car parts retailer in the UK, on Friday (27) announced the appointment of Sukhpal Ahluwalia as its executive chairman and Steve Horne as the chief executive officer.
The parts supplier operates 180 branches across the UK and Ireland, supplying thousands of independent garages, national chains and retail customers with high quality parts, specialist training, tools and equipment.
The Ahluwalia family office has also co-invested in GSF Car Parts alongside private equity firm Epiris.
The co-investment marks Ahluwalia’s return to the car afterparts market. Having founded Euro Car Parts (ECP) in 1978, Sukhpal scaled it from a single-car accessories store in London into the largest car parts distributor and retailer in the UK, with 260 branches nationwide and annual sales of over £1.2 billion.
“This is a hugely exciting time for GSF Car Parts, and I look forward to working with all of our valued team members, customers, and global suppliers as we start on this new journey together. I have a huge respect for the GSF team, including the business’ hard-working branch team members and head office colleagues. Relationships have always been at the centre of GSF’s success, and that’s something that we’re going to double down on,” Ahluwalia said.
Horne said, “We will turn the business into a fast-growth, sales-focused company with our customers, suppliers, and team members at its heart. This growth plan will deliver opportunities across the industry: new sales channels for our valued global suppliers, added convenience for our important customers, and new roles for our knowledgeable team members.”
The appointments also reunited Ahluwalia and Horne, who had worked together at Euro Car Parts previously.
A decade ago, Ahluwalia pocketed up to £280 million after selling the car parts business he had started as a teenager after reaching the UK after his family was forced to flee the repressive Idi Amin regime in Uganda.
The team now has plans to add a significant number of new branches to the business over the coming years, improve the branch experience, strengthen its e-commerce offering, invest in its catalogue and IT, and rejuvenate its delivery fleet.
The business will also stake out its leadership on sustainability by extending its range of products for electric vehicles, as well as investing in new technology to reduce the company’s own emissions and energy footprint.
