14 October 2021

Marshall Motors has bought the entire Motorline group for £64.5 million. The acquisition will add 48 franchise points including 19 Toyota and Lexus locations – brands Marshall is understood to have been looking to add for some time. Motorline was the UK’s second largest retail partner for the Japanese manufacturer.

Motorline was also the joint second largest Hyundai retailer in the UK with seven franchises.

The purchase is expected to result in Marshall’s annual turnover exceeding £3bn.

Motorline’s consolidated revenues for the year ending 31 December 2020 were £695.2m with profit before tax of £6.1m (which included a one-off profit on the disposal of freehold property and other one-off items of in aggregate c£4.0m). Motorline’s consolidated shareholder funds at completion are c£30m.

Commenting on the acquisition, Daksh Gupta, CEO of Marshall Motor Holdings, said: “The acquisition has been funded from existing cash resources and is expected to generate attractive financial returns for our group.

“We are delighted to begin new and significant partnerships with Toyota/Lexus and Hyundai. These brands, with a combined market share in the UK of over 11%, have been a target for the group for some time and the acquisition of Motorline provides immediate scale with each of them. I would like to thank each of them for supporting this acquisition and very much look forward to working with them over the coming years to develop a mutually successful partnership.”

Glen Obee, ex-Chairman of Motorline, added: “Following a period of almost 50 years from when our father founded Motorline in 1972 and having worked within our family business for over 40 years, my brother Thomas and I have decided to retire from the industry that we have enjoyed working within throughout our careers. We would like to pay tribute to the hard work and commitment of our employees and to our brand partners for their support and contribution to the outstanding success Motorline has been able to achieve.

“Under the excellent leadership of Daksh Gupta and his management team, the newly expanded Marshall Motor Group will be even better placed to embrace the future dynamics of the changing motor sector”

Tags: Daksh Gupta, Glen Obee, Marshall Motor Holdings, Motorline