Lookers makes second acquisition of August with £27m swoop for Knights North West

Lookers plc, the North West auto dealer, has expanded its West Midlands presence and added new brands to its portfolio in its latest multi-million pound acquisition.

The deal to acquire Knights North West Limited, completed for £27.2m, will see vehicle brands BMW and MINI introduced to Lookers’ offer for the first time.

The transaction is Lookers’ second acquisition of recent weeks and follows a £55.4m agreement to purchase Warwick Holdings Ltd announced earlier this month.

Lookers, which now operates a network of 166 dealerships, will fund the acquisition of Knights Group and its six dealerships across Crewe, Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent using existing bank facilities.

For the year ending December 31 2015, Knights reported a pre-tax profit of £1.9m against a turnover of £213.3m.

Lookers expects the acquisition to be earnings enhancing for the year ending December 31 2017.

The company’s chief exec, Andy Bruce, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Knights team to the Group and are excited to be adding the iconic brands of BMW and MINI to our list of premium marques, offering our customers a wider choice of vehicles.

“This marks another significant addition to Lookers and demonstrates our focus and commitment on expanding the motor division following the sale of our parts business.”

He added: “We continue to see opportunity in the prestige car market as demand increases amongst the UK’s discerning motorists, and have no doubt that the BMW and MINI dealerships will continue to thrive as part of Lookers.”

Law firm Shakespeare Martineau advised Knights on all legal aspects of the sale.

Shakespeare Martineau partner Adam McGiveron commented: “This deal reflects confidence in the market place and demonstrates the continued demands for premium European brands, such as BMW. This demonstrates that transactions are still being done in the region and assets are available for the right deals.

“Managing any sale process can be challenging, but by building a strong rapport with the sellers we were given the opportunity to provide legal and commercial counsel to the team at Knights North West that ensured the smooth sale of the business.”

He continued: “It has been great to be involved in a deal like this for a leading business in its field and has been extremely rewarding for the team at Shakespeare Martineau.”

Last week, Lookers reported seven-figure profit growth for the first six months of 2016