Auto Retail Agenda: 2 January 2024
01 January 2024
- LOOKERS MAY NOW CUT 14.5% OF ITS WORKFORCE
- AVAILABLE CAR IN £7.3m 2022 LOSS
- GUMSHOE TAKES STAKE IN PENDRAGON
- OBE FOR TERENCE DONNELLY
- AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST RETAILER HACKED
- BUICK NETWORK HALVES AS RETAILERS REJECT EVs
- STOCKWATCH
- COMING UP: UK consumer credit
- FALLING INFLATION TO BOOST UK ECONOMY
- 5% ENERGY BILL PRICE HIKE
Lookers may now cut 14.5% of its workforce
Lookers has warned it may cut around 945 jobs, or 14.5% of its total workforce, as part of an ongoing strategic review following its sale to Global Auto Holdings.
In a previous statement in early December, Lookers announced 200 redundancies, which it said were “linked to the central support function of running a PLC… that number is around 3% of the 6,500 staff at lookers”.
The two companies have now “identified areas that require restructuring and which will require a redundancy programme to be undertaken,” it said in a statement.
Available Car in £7.3m 2022 loss
Castle Donington-based used car retailer Available Car has announced a £7.3m loss before tax for the year ended December 2022, after a £2.0m profit in 2021. Revenue increased slightly, from £329m to £335m.
Borrowing costs rose from £964k in 2021 to £1.67m in 2022. Dividends of £582k were paid during the year, matching 2021’s figure.
Directors blamed the ongoing challenges around used car supply, rising prices and difficult economic conditions for the loss.
“As a result, the company has since decided to review its whole operation in order to generate the best long-term outcome for shareholders and stakeholders.”
In August 2023, it was announced that Peter Waddell’s Big Motoring World was to acquire Available Car’s Cannock and Leeds sites, leaving the business with its original 1,200-car head office site at Castle Donington, and an 850-car business in Sutton-in-Ashfield.
Parent company Graham Bell Holdings posted a £7.4m loss before tax, after a £3.1m profit in 2021. Turnover increased from £402m to £405m.
Gumshoe takes stake in Pendragon
New York-based Gumshoe Capital Management LLC has taken a 3.0% stake in Pendragon PLC. It has not previously held a position in the business.
On 28 December, the FCA cleared the sale of Pendragon’s UK auto retail business to Lithia, which will close by 31 January 2024. This will mark the beginning of Pendragon’s transition into Pinewood Technologies, a pure-play software-as-a-service business.
OBE for Terence Donnelly
Donnelly Motor Group executive chair Terence Donnelly has been awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours for services to the motor industry in Northern Ireland. Donnelly Group is Northern Ireland’s largest family-owned auto retailer.
WORLD NEWS
Australia’s largest retailer hacked
Eagers Automotive, which owns more than 300 retailers across Australia, is the victim of a cyber attack. Customers were alerted on 27 December. “The full extent of the cyber incident cannot yet be ascertained,” said chief executive Keith Thornton. The retailer, which has annual revenue of £4.42bn, is Australia’s largest.
Buick network halves as retailers reject EVs
Nealy half of Buick’s US network accepted buyouts and left the brand last year, rather than investing in selling EVs. The GM brand ended the year with around 1,000 retailers, 47% fewer than at the start of 2023.
The buyout programme remains open, said VP Duncan Aldred. “I’m really pleased with where we are,” he said. The network “is now a good size”. Retailer throughput increased by an average of 300%, he added.
STOCKWATCH
Closing prices on 29 December 2023 and weekly change
Auto Trader Group 721.4p (+24.2p / +3.4%)
Caffyns 550.0p (n/c)
Halfords 199.3p (+6.7p / +3.4%)
Inchcape 715.5p (+24.0p / +3.4%)
Motorpoint 114.5p (+22.5p / +21.7%)
Pendragon 32.3p (+0.25p / +0.7%)
Vertu 71.0p (+1.0p / +1.4%)
COMING UP
Thursday, UK consumer credit
Friday, Halifax house price index
MONEY MATTERS
Falling inflation to boost UK economy
Rapidly falling inflation and an improvement in household incomes will help the UK economy “turn a page” in 2024. PwC predicts the Britain will be the fourth-best performing economy in the G7, beathing France, Germany and Japan. The size of the economy will be 2.7% larger than pre-pandemic 2019.
PwC chief economist Barret Kupelian described the UK outlook as “far rosier for 2024 than expected 12 months ago”.
5% energy bill price hike
Average household energy bills will rise by an average of £94 a year as a 5% hike in the price cap comes into force. The price cap for the first three months of 2024 is £1,928 a year, compared to £1,834 for the final three months of 2023. Ofgem can change the maximum price every quarter – and prices are expected to fall again when the cap next changes on 1 April.
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