THE AA has sold its mobile communications division to York-based JWE Telecom for a maximum of £1.4 million. The deal gives JWE installation contracts and adds 27 fully-qualified engineers supported by a team of 10 administrators operating out of Birmingham to its existing nationwide installation operation.

Among the contracts added to JWE's portfolio is to install the AA's fleet of cars and roadside assistance vehicles with mobile communication systems for the next three years. The fleet is about 3,000 vehicles. The AA's decision to sell the business was made because it was not considered an attractive market place and was not providing sufficient returns.

Nick Bravery, AA general manager with responsibility for the sale of the mobile communications division, said the deal had been achieved without redundancies.JWE has existing installation contracts with such customers as BT, Cellnet, GEC-Marconi, East Midlands Electricity and British Gas Transco.