• VERTU BUYS HEPWORTH HONDA
• ARNOLD CLARK FORD GLASGOW TO CLOSE
• iVENDI FACILITATES £1.3bn SALES
• DVLA VOTE TO STRIKE
• NEW IDEAS ON SHOWROOM REOPENING
• LITHIA MOTORS TO LEAD US RETAILER CONSOLIDATION
• EVs TO TRANSFORM AFTERSALES
• STOCKWATCH – Lookers over 50p, half-way to Zeus Capital’s blue-sky scenario
• COMING UP – NFDA Dealer Attitude survey
• ODEY ACQUITTED
• UK POPULATION ‘CHRONICALLY UNDERFUNDED’

Vertu buys Hepworth Honda

Vertu cemented its position as the biggest Honda retailer in Europe last Friday with the purchase of Hepworth Honda in Huddersfield. Robert Forrester is visiting the site on Thursday. Hepworth Motor Group MD Stephen Brighton said he is “looking forward to watching a great team thrive as part of the Vertu Group”.

Over the weekend, Robert Forrester revealed Vertu total sales were up 50% year-on-year as “the world started to seize up” in 2020. Used car sales were up 95%.

This is backed up by data from Auto Trader revealing most retailers are now performing at 90% of typical trading volumes. It is “testament to the speed at which retailers have adapted to digital retailing,” said Auto Trader CEO Nathan Coe. “Automotive retailing is very much open for business.”

In other Vertu news, last week, the Gateshead-based firm acquire the naming rights for the Eagles Community Arena in Newcastle. It has been renamed the Vertu Motors Arena. The deal came in the same week Cazoo secured a “multi-year” deal to become the official partner of the English Football League – adding to its shirt sponsor deals with Premier League clubs Aston Villa and Everton.

 

Arnold Clark Ford Glasgow to close

Arnold Clark Ford on Glasgow Road, Rutherglen, will close today (Monday) after the facility was purchased by a local development company. The site will be included in the wider regeneration plans for the Rutherglen area. No jobs will be lost and employees are being transferred to other local branches, including Arnold Clark Volkswagen on Dalmarnock Road, Rutherglen.

In Leicester, a former Marshall retailer is to be redeveloped into fashion giant Boohoo’s flagship factory, creating 100 jobs. The site was reportedly sold for £3m last summer.

http://bit.ly/2OSFAME

 

iVendi facilitates £1.3bn sales

iVendi has processed more than £1.3bn of online and showroom sales through its platform during the 12 months of the Covid-19 pandemic – more than £200m up on the previous year. It “shows the extent to which technology has sustained dealers through the crisis,” said CEO James Tew.

 

DVLA vote to strike

Workers at DVLA Swansea have voted for industrial action after what the PCS union called “the worst Covid workplace outbreak” in the UK. The union will now meet with DVLA management before deciding its next move. “Any industrial action is likely to have a detrimental impact on motorists,” said a DVLA spokesman.

http://bbc.in/3eDp4em

 

New ideas on showroom reopening

The next Auto Retail Live on 23 March will explore ideas from around the world on showroom reopening. Birchwood Automotive president Steve Chipman, Marshall CEO Daksh Gupta and Rapid RTC sales VP Pontus Riska will discuss how UK retailers can put themselves in the best position for reopening, how to handle customers and leads, how to conduct test drives and ensuring staff safety and mental wellbeing. Sign up now for 40 minutes of practical, expert advice from some of auto retail’s most successful operators.

http://bit.ly/3lgUNmw

 

 

WORLD NEWS

Lithia Motors to lead US retailer consolidation

The CEO of fast-growing US Fortune 500 retailer Lithia Motors, which has 211 sites across North America, says the company could lead a consolidation of large publically-listed retailer groups to help compete with online-only start-ups. “If there’s going to be consolidation… it’s most likely going to come from us,” said Bryan DeBoer. Lithia’s strategy in 2021 will focus on acquiring smaller individual retailers.

http://reut.rs/2Nf9zha

 

EVs to transform aftersales

The loss of service department revenue from the switch to EVs is “not as dire as those who wrongly suggest that EVs don’t need service predict,” says auto analyst Maryann Keller. “Some of the work lost from a profit standpoint [such as oil changes] isn’t meaningful.” Retailer retention rates may actually improve thanks to more tech-intensive vehicles and although servicing may be less frequent, “when it is needed, it will cost more because of the investment dealers make and what they have to pay technicians.”

http://bit.ly/3thjq5t

 

STOCKWATCH

Closing prices on 12 March 2021 and weekly change

Lookers over 50p, half-way to Zeus Capital’s blue-sky scenario

Auto Trader Group 562.2p  (+9.0p / +1.6%)

Cambria 64.0p (+4.0p / +6.4%)

Caffyns 360.0p (+5.0p / +1.3%)

Halfords 342.0p (+27.0p / +8.2%)

Inchcape 762.5p (+37.5p / +5.0%)

Lookers 50.2p (+6.7p / +14.3%)

Marshall Motor Holdings 155.0p (+10.0p / +6.6%)

Motorpoint 281.0p (+6.0p / +2.1%)

Pendragon 16.1p (+0.2p / +1.2%)

Vertu 38.0p (+0.1p / +0.5%)

 

 

COMING UP

Monday, NFDA Dealer Attitude survey – come back at 9am for full analysis from Auto Retail Agenda

Thursday, Bank of England interest rate decision

Friday, GFK Consumer Confidence

 

MONEY MATTERS

Odey acquitted

Odey Asset Management founder Crispin Odey has been acquitted of indecent assault. “Crispin has always maintained his innocence and we are pleased that he has been found not guilty” said an Odey AM spokesman. Last year, Odey increased its stake in Pendragon and, today, is the retailer’s largest shareholder, on 15.6%.

http://bit.ly/30IcBOc

 

UK population ‘chronically underfunded’

Brits are being warned state pension payments are unlikely to be enough to support them through retirement. JM Finn wealth manager Clare Julian said the UK population is “chronically underfunded… people just don’t realise how much you’ll need in order to get the lifestyle you want or need in retirement”. The full state pension is currently £175.20 per week.

http://bit.ly/3vpTJBN