Auto Retail Agenda: 20 January 2020
19 January 2020
- LOOKERS NEWCASTLE OFFICE TO CLOSE
- LEVEN JOBS SAVED IN CAMBRIA/VERTU DEAL
- TURNAROUND EXPERT REWARDED
- NATHANIEL CARS IS TOP MG DEALER
- GM APPOINTS SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER
- INCHCAPE ACQUIRES MERCEDES-BENZ COLOMBIA
- STOCKWATCH – Motorpoint prepares to open its 13th site
- LAUNCH DIARY – Kia XCeed Plug-in Hybrid, MG3 Exclusive Nav
- COMING UP – Unemployment figures
- WAGE RISES FORECAST FOR 2020
- INTEREST RATE CUT MORE LIKELY
- BLOG: Festive flurry pushes auction prices to record high
Lookers Newcastle office to close
Lookers is closing its award-winning north east head office in Newcastle due to “extremely challenging market conditions”. Lookers inherited the Leopard House office on the Newcastle Business Park following the acquisition of Benfield in September 2015 for £87.5m.
In a statement, Lookers said headwinds over the past year have had “a significant impact” on trading performance. “Consequently, the Group has undertaken a number of difficult but necessary measures to operate a simpler organisational structure, with more discipline and efficiency.”
The Newcastle team is believed to number around 60, comprising marketing and PR roles. It had doubled in size since the Benfield acquisition. Last year, it was named In-House Marketing Team of the Year at the North East Marketing Awards. Accepting the award, group marketing director Heike O’Leary said she was “incredibly proud of my team here in Newcastle”.
Some duties at the Newcastle office are expected to be moved to Lookers’ Altrincham head office, 155 miles away in Greater Manchester. Lookers said “we will make every effort to support staff in finding alternative roles across the business where possible. We will be supporting all those affected throughout the process”.
Leven jobs saved in Cambria/Vertu deal
Jobs at The Leven Car Company, which went into administration earlier this month, are expected to saved under a deal which will split the business between Cambria and Vertu.
Auto Retail Agenda understands Cambria is expected to buy the Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce operations while Vertu will take the Suzuki, Mitsubishi and Kia businesses. The deal is expected to be completed on Monday evening.
Leven, which was formed six years ago by Hugh McMahon, went into administration on 7 January according to a statement by receivers Leonard Curtis Business Rescue & Recovery.
A statement by Leonard Curtis said: “The company, which employs 139 staff across its four dealerships, has ceased trading. At this stage, none of the company’s employees have been made redundant whilst the administrators assess the company’s financial position and explore the possibility of finding a buyer for all or parts of the business.”
Turnaround expert rewarded
Renowned auto retail operations expert Ian Allen, from CNA International, has been made a member of influential organisation the Institute for Turnaround (IFT).
During the last 10 years, Ian has successfully completed operational turnaround projects in the motor retail and remarketing sectors, along with advising OEMs.
Jitesh Mistry, head of membership at the IFT, said: “The motor retail sector is going through both challenging and changing times and Ian’s operational track record is proving to be of considerable added value to the sector.”Mr Allen is also a regular contributor to our sister publication, Auto Retail Profit.
Nathaniel Cars is top MG dealer
Nathaniel Cars, which operates three sites in south Wales, has been named MG Dealer of the Year 2019. It was chosen for an “exceptional” sales performance and excellent aftersales customer service. Other sales award winners were Richmond Motor Group, Chorley Group and Mackie Motors; aftersales prizes went to Eric Stead, Arnold Clark Rutherglen and FG Barnes. At its annual dealer conference in St Pancras, MG also announced a 30k sales target for 2020, 130% up on 2019.
WORLD NEWS
GM appoints sustainability officer
Dane Parker has been appointed GM’s first chief sustainability officer. His goals include helping move the company to a zero-emissions future. Mr Parker will also help strategically prepare GM facilities for electric vehicles. “Our vision is of a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion,” said GM chairman and CEO Mary Barra.
Inchcape acquires Mercedes-Benz Colombia
Inchcape is acquiring the Mercedes-Benz car and van distributor in Colombia for an undisclosed sum. It follows the acquisition in late 2019 of Daimler brand distributors in Uruguay and Ecuador. For 30 years, Inchcape has been a retail-only partner to Daimler. The deal is Inchcape’s 12th distribution business win since 2016. Disposal of overseas retail-only operations continues and is expected to generate £250m in 2020.
STOCKWATCH
Closing prices on 17 January 2020 and weekly change
Motorpoint prepares to open its 13th site, in Cardiff, as part of plans for at least 20 sites
Auto Trader Group 573.4p (-11.2p)
Cambria 68.0p (-2.0p)
Caffyns 400.0p (n/c)
Halfords 152.0p (+10.0p)
Inchcape 700.0p (+1.5p)
Lookers 64.5p (+5.1p)
Marshall Motor Holdings 157.5p (+2.5p)
Motorpoint 304.0p (+27.0p)
Pendragon 12.7p (+0.18p)
Vertu 38.15p (+0.9p)
LAUNCH DIARY
Kia XCeed and Sportwagon Plug-in Hybrid, up to 37-mile electric range, recharge time 2 hours 15 mins, ordering open now from £29,995
MG3 Exclusive Nav, value variant of MG3 supermini with standard sat nav and Apple CarPlay, priced at £12,995 (PCP buyers also benefit from an extra £1,500 finance deposit allowance)
Morgan Plus 4 70th Anniversary, final 20 cars mark the end of Morgan steel-chassis production, priced at £60,995 (and all reserved)
COMING UP
Tuesday, Unemployment figures
Wednesday, Close Brothers trading update
6 February, Auto Retail Live Quarterly Briefing
MONEY MATTERS
Wage rises forecast for 2020
Two years of pay freezes are to end in 2020 with expected increases of at least 3%. The biggest – 4.4% – will be in the Midlands, with the north rising by 3.3% and the south east by 2.9%. London will rise by just 2.1%, according to the Robert Walters annual Salary Survey. This is, however still above expected 2020 inflation of 1.9%.
BLOG: Festive flurry pushes auction prices to record high
Tags:
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee, Cambria, GM, Inchcape, Kia, Leven, Lookers, MG, Motorpoint, Nathaniel Cars, Vertu 
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