Member Article

Vertu acquires 3 Honda dealerships from Lookers for £2m

Gateshead-based car retailer Vertu Motors plc has acquired three Honda dealerships in Nottingham, Derby and Stockton-On-Tees from Lookers PLC for £2m.

Now operating twelve Honda car outlets, as well as two motorcycle outlets, Vertu has cemented its position as Honda’s largest retail partner in Europe.

Vertu reportedly made the deal due to the sites having existing synergies with sites already owned by the company.

The Nottingham and Derby outlets are adjacent to the Group’s existing Honda outlets in Mansfield and Grantham, whilst the Stockton-On-Tees dealership is located adjacent to the Vertu’s existing Honda outlets in Durham and Sunderland.

The three dealerships achieved unaudited revenues of £39m, and a break even trading result, for the year ended 31 December 2015.

Lookers plc group nationwide now represent 31 brands across 160 dealerships, employing over 8,500 staff with a turnover of over £4bn, selling over 200,000 cars per annum. Lookers is the largest motor group in the North East, following its acquisition of the Benfield brand in September last year.

This is the second acquisition announced by Vertu of late, following its purchase of Who’s Ace Holdings Ltd (AceParts), which operates an online vehicle parts business headquartered in Sittingbourne, Kent.

Robert Forrester, CEO of Vertu Motors, said: “We are delighted to be expanding our representation with Honda in these areas which will provide us with strong marketing and other operational synergies.

“Honda has a very strong new product line up with New Jazz, New Civic, New CR-V, New HR-V alongside sportier premium products such as Type R and NSX. This is driving increased consumer interest and demand.

“Our existing business achieved the accolade of Honda Dealer Group of the Year in December 2015 for the second successive year, recognising its performance in customer satisfaction in particular, and the newly acquired outlets will enable us to build upon this success driven by our excellent franchise management team.”

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