• RELIEVED RETAILERS REOPEN SAFELY
• TWO RETAILERS CELEBRATE LANDMARKS
• GLASGOW MOTORPOINT SOLD
• CLAIMS MANAGEMENT COMPANY COMMISSION WARNING
• POLESTAR RETAILER SUSTAINABILITY DECLARATIONS
• SPAIN COMMITS TO £6k EV SUBSIDIES
• CHINESE CAR SALES IN UNBROKEN 12-MONTH GROWTH
• STOCKWATCH – Lookers up 27.2% on back of profit forecast upgrade
• COMING UP – Showrooms reopen
• £75bn COVID LOANS GO LIVE
• NCP IN COURT BID TO CANCEL RENT ARREARS
• BLOG: IT’S ALL ABOUT PERSPECTIVE

Relieved retailers reopen safely

The NFDA and SMMT have published updated restart guidance for retailers. The ‘best-practice’ guide, now in its fourth edition (link below), covers the entire customer experience and has been developed in partnership with retailers and OEMs. It includes advice on staff training, signage, sanitation and PPE.

Sue Robinson said the industry has been “proactively working together to resume business as soon as possible in line with the government’s guidelines” and the guidance will help over 4,500 franchised dealers “provide the best possible service in sales and aftersales while protecting staff and guests”.

Kia UK president and CEO Paul Philpott praised retailers who have “worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic” but admitted that many customers still “prefer to purchase a car in-person”. SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said that click and collect has helped the sector survive but “cannot replace the experience of choosing and test driving a new car in person”.

“We’re super-excited” about reopening, said Lookers COO Duncan McPhee. At each reopening in 2020, there was a release of pent-up demand and “I think we’ll have a monumental 2021”. Mr McPhee is tipping EVs and PHEVs in particular to fly out of showrooms.

In a Motor Ombudsman survey, more than half of retailers now expect new car sales to be higher for April to June than in Q2 2019. More than two thirds expect used car sales to be higher than in the comparable pre-Covid 2019 quarter. The results “paint an encouraging picture” said chief ombudsman Bill Fennell.

https://bit.ly/3d7S8th

 

Two retailers celebrate landmarks

Multi-franchise Isle of Wight retailer Esplanade is celebrating its 75^th anniversary today (12 April). Employing 40 islanders, the retailer was acquired by the Jacksons Group in 2017. Outgrowing its original Newport premises, a brand new site in Cowes was opened in 2018. It is calculated Esplanade has sold 45,000 cars over 75 years.

Horizon Honda Poole is also marking 50 years of trading, in which it’s grown from a single site to having 10 branches and more than 230 employees. Its first employee, Simon Rickard, is still with the firm: he started as a car cleaner and rose through the ranks to become director and group buyer. “I’ve no plans to retire any time soon,” said Mr Rickard.

 

Glasgow Motorpoint sold

Glasgow Motorpoint’s 5.64-acre site has been sold for £6.25m to a private investor. Boasting a 37,000 sq ft building, the site’s prominent position and alternative use options “make it an attractive long-term investment for the purchaser,” said Colliers head of automotive and roadside John Roberts.

 

Claims management company commission warning

Retailers are being warned about claims management companies campaigning on social media that ‘qualifying PCP holders are claiming thousands due to undisclosed commissions on their car deal’. In the event of any claim, accountability lies primarily with dealers and brokers: retailers should double-check they are complying with new FCA rules on commission disclosure in all promotional and pre-contract activities, warned MotoNovo chief risk officer Stephan Bothma. “Prominence is essential.”

 

Polestar retailers’ sustainability declarations

Polestar retailers are to start displaying ‘sustainability declarations’. The labelling will disclose carbon footprint and traced risk materials, with more information added over time. Common in industries such as food and fashion, the declarations will help consumers ‘make informed and ethical decisions’ said CEO Thomas Ingenlath.

 

 

WORLD NEWS

Spain commits to £6k EV subsidies

The Spanish government has committed up to €800m (almost £700m) in EV subsidies until 2023. Private buyers will get up to €7k (just over £6k), while those buying electric vans will get up to €9k (£7,800). The scheme went live last Saturday. The government wants to promote domestic production of battery-powered cars as well as batteries.

https://reut.rs/3s2mzFm

 

Chinese car sales in unbroken 12-month growth

New car registrations surged 75% in March, reaching 2.53 million vehicles in one month alone. It marks the 12^th straight month of growth in the world’s largest new car market as it recovers strongly from the Covid-19 pandemic.

https://yhoo.it/3d8h3wx

 

STOCKWATCH

Closing prices on 9 April 2021 and weekly change

Lookers up 27.2% on back of profit forecast upgrade

Auto Trader Group 569.4p (+9.4p / +1.6%)

Cambria 76.0p (+2.5p / +3.3%)

Caffyns 370.0p (+20.0p / +5.5p)

Halfords 380.4p (+8.0p / +2.1%)

Inchcape 787.0p (+25.5p / +3.2%)

Lookers 71.0p (+17.0p / +27.2%)

Marshall Motor Holdings 176.0p (+3.0p / +1.7%)

Motorpoint 260.0p (+2.5p / +0.9%)

Pendragon 20.5p (+3.95p / +21.3%)

Vertu 42.1p (+2.7p / +6.6%)

 

 

COMING UP

Monday, showrooms reopen

Tuesday, UK retail sales, GDP

Saturday, 1-minute silence at 15:00 for the Duke of Edinburgh

 

MONEY MATTERS

£75bn Covid loans go live

Businesses can now apply for between £25,001 and £10m in government-backed Covid-19 ‘recovery loans’. The £75bn scheme sees the government take on on 80% of the default risk of each loan. The new Recovery Loan Scheme, open to businesses of any size “will ensure that businesses continue to have access to the finance they need as we move out of this crisis,” said chancellor Rishi Sunak. The scheme is open until 31 December 2021.

https://bit.ly/3uEtFS6

 

NCP in court bid to cancel rent arrears

NCP is aiming to use a contentious legal structure called the ‘Part 26A process’ to write off substantial rent arrears. If approved by a court, property owners would be forced into accepting new rent terms even if they oppose them. NCP, which is being advised by Deloitte, has warned it could collapse if the restructuring is not implemented.

https://bit.ly/2PWQH7U

 

BLOG: Startup scale? It’s all about perspective