The Sterling Group, an operationally focused middle market private equity firm, announced the establishment of Premier Tire & Service, a new platform formed to build a leading, one-stop tire and auto service solutions provider.

Sterling will partner with John Adams, an executive with 25 years of experience in the automotive aftermarket industry and former CEO of Full Speed Automotive, to build the Premier platform. Premier will seek to acquire independent tire and retail service locations with customer-focused service models in various markets across the country.

Premier is a portfolio company of The Sterling Group Foundation Fund. The Foundation Fund aims to leverage the firm’s operational capabilities and experience in the industrial sector to “set the foundation” for growth at lower middle market companies.

Lucas Cutler, partner of The Sterling Group Foundation Fund, and other team members have deep experience in the auto aftermarket sector. “We are excited to enter the highly attractive tire retail and service segment of the aftermarket automotive industry and partner with seasoned industry professionals to build a platform of scale,” said Cutler.  

Earlier this year, Luke Bateman joined the Foundation Fund team as a Managing Director. Bateman brings more than a decade of experience partnering with lower middle market companies and was most recently a partner at Insight Equity in Dallas. He joins a group of both Sterling alumni and new additions that comprise the Foundation Fund Investment team: Steven Hirsch, director; Jared Bell, vice president; Bryan Tisdale, vice president; Lynn Astrup, associate; and Graham Gillespie, associate.