Goodyear Dunlop has shelved its original plan for a management buyout of its fast-fit arm HiQ after being inundated with expressions of interest from people who want to take on a franchise.

The company started advertising for regional franchises in March with a deadline of May 16 for applications.

An MBO team of three directors, led by HiQ retail director and former managing director Neil Burrows, was expected to take control of the business.

They will be assigned new roles within Goodyear Dunlop once the structure is finalised.

Due diligence is now under way with chosen bidders for each region. Franchisees will be appointed by the end of this month.

Group managing director Mark Brickhill said: “On the May 16 closing date we had more bidders than the total number of franchise regions.

“This puts us in a strong position to make choices that ensure we have committed franchisees on board who share our vision in strengthening the network.

“We will carefully evaluate each bid to ensure each franchisee has a strong business plan to grow the network by winning and servicing new consumer and fleet business.”

HiQ will continue to be run from the group headquarters at Goodyear Dunlop’s TyreFort UK head office, with a restructured management team.