Auto Retail Agenda: 21 December 2020
20 December 2020
- TIER 4: SHOWROOMS TO CLOSE, AGAIN
- FINANCE BUYERS TOLD TO ‘WAIT AND SAVE’
- LOOKERS FAILS TO HIT 2020 INTERIMS DEADLINE
- PORSCHE EXPANDS EU ONLINE SALES
- FORMER AUTONATION CEO REJOINS JM FAMILY
- SOCIETE GENERALE ACQUIRES ‘FRENCH CAZOO’
- STOCKWATCH – Pendragon disposes of Santa Monica JLR retailer for £11.8m
- COMING UP – UK GDP, fiscal deficit
- HMRC ‘SHOULD REVEAL COMPANIES CLAIMING FURLOUGH’
- CHANCELLOR SCRAPS FURLOUGH BONUS SCHEME
- BLOG: TIER 4, TARGETS AND POSITIVITY
Tier 4: showrooms to close, again
England’s new Tier 4 restrictions have been descried as “another blow to Covid-secure auto retail” by SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes, who added with frustration: “But you can still buy your Christmas tree.”
The restrictions require non-essential businesses, which includes vehicle showrooms, to close. However, click-and-collect services, where goods are pre-ordered and collected off the premises, can continue, as can delivery services.
The Government has now updated its Covid restrictions postcode checker to include the fourth Tier.
Health secretary Matt Hancock says everyone, particularly Tier 4 areas, must now behave as if they have the virus. A new, more infectious and rapidly-spreading strain of the virus is “out of control”. Strengthened measures could now be in place for months.
Lobby group London First chairman Paul Drechsler said businesses across the region would feel pain but wanted “to do what is necessary now to avoid a further lockdown in January… we don’t want to be checking in and out of Hotel California”.
The rest of the UK also plans stricter measures. The whole of Scotland will placed in the strictest Level 4 measures from Boxing Day, forcing non-essential shops to close. The whole of Wales is now under Level 4 restrictions which are in line with England’s Tier 4 rules.
Northern Ireland begins a six-week lockdown on Boxing Day. Non-essential businesses must close, although MOT centres are expected to stay open – with clarification expected on where vehicles can be washed ahead of the test.
Vertu’s Robert Forrester has stressed that areas in Tiers 1, 2 and 3 “can still visit us as normal“. Mr Forrester included a table of what car buyers can and can’t do: the only difference is that in Tier 4, they can’t enter the showroom. “Whichever tier your area has been placed in, your local dealership remains focused on supporting customers, colleagues and local communities.”
Finance buyers told to ‘wait and save’
Reports over the weekend have suggested motorists should wait a month to save up to £1,100 on car finance. The Pointing to the discretionary commission ban due at end of next month, The Telegraph reported the FCA said it could be harming consumers “on a potentially significant scale”.
However, DWF Law’s John Perez has suggested the price of vehicles could rise instead. “We know from experience that dealers will do everything they can to protect their margins. The customer will still end up paying the same final sum, albeit on a different element of the overall transaction.”The NFDA has explained in detail the measures the FCA is putting in place for discretionary commission from 28 January 2021.
Lookers fails to hit 2020 interims deadline
Lookers has confirmed it will not publish its 2020 interim results by the end of December, despite initially saying it hoped to post them “as soon as possible” in December. It means the troubled retail group’s shares will remain suspended until 2021. Lookers finally issued its 2019 results in November, showing a £45.5m loss before tax. The company plans to hold a general meeting on 28 December 2020, at which it will propose BDP replaces Deloitte as its auditor.
Porsche expands online sales
Porsche is expanding its online sales platform to more European countries, including France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. The online sales channel launched in Germany in October 2019. The UK “will follow soon”. Customers can complete as much of the journey online as they want, up to home delivery. Porsche retailers can list both new and used stock on the platform, including rare and collectable derivatives.
WORLD NEWS
Former AutoNation CEO rejoins JM Family
Former AutoNation CEO Cheryl Miller, who resigned in July after less than a year in the role, has rejoined JM Family as CFO. She previously worked at the automotive-focused conglomerate between 2004 and 2009, leaving to join AutoNation as treasurer and VP of investor relations, before rising to CFO in 2014 and CEO in 2019.
Societe Generale acquires ‘French Cazoo’
French financial services giant Societe Generale has acquired Reezocar, a used car marketplace founded in 2014. It currently has seven million car listings and boasts traffic of more than two million visitors a month. Societe Generale was an early investor in Reezocar and says acquiring it will help it bolster on-site finance and insurance services, and accelerate development both in France and internationally.
STOCKWATCH
Closing prices on 18 December 2020 and weekly change
Pendragon disposes of Santa Monica JLR retailer for £11.8m
Auto Trader Group 589.0p (+31.8p / +5.5%)
Cambria 58.5p (-1.0p / -1.6%)
Caffyns 385.0p (n/c)
Halfords 262.0p (-11.0p / -4.1%)
Inchcape 648.5p (+16.5p / +2.5%)
Lookers Shares suspended at 21.0p
Marshall Motor Holdings 141.5p (+5.5p / +3.9%)
Motorpoint 280.0p (-23.5p / -8.0%)
Pendragon 11.1p (-2.46p / -19.9%)
Vertu 31.7p (+3.75p / +12.5%)
COMING UP
Tuesday, UK GDP
Tuesday, public sector net borrowing
MONEY MATTERS
HMRC ‘should reveal companies claiming furlough’
The names of companies receiving furlough money should be revealed, says the Commons Public Accounts Committee, due to concerns over fraud and profitable businesses paying dividends. HMRC should also outline plans to recover furlough cash from companies that have thrived despite the pandemic. “Profiteering from the taxpayer is not acceptable,” said PAC chairwoman Meg Hillier.
Chancellor scraps furlough bonus scheme
The one-off £1,000 Job Retention Bonus payable to firms who retained previously-furloughed staff until the end of January 2021 has been scrapped. The Chancellor said it will be replaced with a new ‘retention incentive’ that will be announced later.
BLOG: Tier 4, targets and positivity
Tags:
AutoNation, Coronavirus, FCA, Furlough, HMRC, JM Family, Lawgistics, Lookers, Porsche, Reezocar 
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