• NEW JLR UNIFORM DIKTAT ANGERS RETAILERS
• TOM HARTLEY IN COURT
• ARNOLD CLARK WILL NOT RENEW THIS MORNING DEAL
• CAZOO LENDERS BRING IN BANKERS FOR DEBT RESTRUCTURE
• JOIN SWANSWAY, PERRYS AND AUTO TRADER EXECS
• CARGURUS MULLS FULL TAKEOVER OF CAROFFER
• EURO 7 ‘DISTRACTING INDUSTRY FROM EVs’
• STOCKWATCH
• COMING UP: Auto Trader 2022 results
• UK RECESSION WARNING
• MORTGAGE COSTS RISE: ‘WORSE TO COME’

New JLR uniform diktat angers retailers

JLR has imposed new sales staff uniform rules on retailers following the ‘House of Brands’ PR disaster that appeared to signal the demise of the Land Rover name.

Using JLR’s preferred supplier, the uniforms cost more than £1,000, according to one retailer.

The new rules were published in April in JLR’s “The Look Book” which sets out what staff should wear under the new House of Brands strategy. They combine very dark blue suits with white leather trainers and white t-shirts or black roll-neck jumpers.

One JLR retailer told Auto Retail Agenda: “It’s a typically ill-conceived idea from JLR, so we have some challenges with it. These things aren’t cheap, so who pays for them?

“JLR says that’s the responsibility of the dealer but because it’s either unbranded or very subtly branded, if the retailer pays for it, the clothing could be subject to benefit-in-kind taxation. We may have to look at either a clothing allowance or a pay rise to cover this. But with a 30% staff turnover in sales staff and £500 costs per person, it’s not cheap.

“We have to submit evidence to JLR by 16 June about how we’re going to achieve the new look.”

A spokesperson for JLR said: “Retailers have the freedom to adopt ready-to-wear or bespoke items according to budget, and procure through a supplier of their choice.”

Chris Clark from the John Clark Motor Group, which represents JLR in six locations in Scotland, said the retailer solves any issues with benefit-in-kind by working with a corporate workwear provider that knows the rules and how to work with them.He recommended that other retailers do the same thing.

• Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3N3DqFF

 

Tom Hartley in court

Tom Hartley appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court last week to plead not guilty to a charge of failing to comply with a requirement of the director of the Serious Fraud Office. He is alleged to have withheld information from a fraud investigation into a car leasing company, Raedex Consortium, that collapsed with debts of £28m.

The Series Fraud Office says Hartley is suspected of holding information related to a suspect in the case. It says he had been asked to provide this four times.

Hartley will go on trial at the City of London Magistrates’’ Court in October.

https://bit.ly/43tIQiv

 

Arnold Clark will not renew This Morning deal

Arnold Clark, the main sponsor of This Morning, has announced it will not renew its “multi-million pound deal” when the current contract comes to an end in the autumn.

The sponsorship began in September 2021 and was described as a multi-year deal spanning every touchpoint including broadcast, digital and app, social media, experiential and licencing.

“There are lots of similarities between Arnold Clark’s customer base and the This Morning viewer,” said head of marketing Stephen Millar at the time.

“The pitfalls of celebrity marketing endorsement are quite clear for our sector,” said Robert Forrester on Twitter over the weekend. “Arnold Clark sponsored @thismorning and obviously WBAC were closely connected with @schofe [Philip Schofield]. Liz [Cope], our CMS, always warned me against it!”

https://bit.ly/42sdIz7

 

Cazoo lenders bring in bankers for debt restructure

Major lenders to Cazoo have enlisted bankers to lead talks about a £510m debt restructuring. Funds holding more than £500m of debt in Cazoo have hired PJT Partners to advise them on negotiations over convertible notes due for repayment in 2027.

A source close to Cazoo said the company has over £200m on its balance sheet, so there is plenty of time to negotiate with noteholders.

Some analysts believe the debt restructuring talks could be followed by an offer to take the company private again. Cazoo, which is being advised by Goldman Sachs, last week declined to comment.

https://bit.ly/3WG16Tn

 

Join Swansway, Perrys and Auto Trader execs

Swansway’s Peter Smyth, Perrys’ Darren Ardron and Auto Trader’s Karolina Edwards-Smajda will join the next Auto Retail Live Business Briefing on Thursday 8 June to talk about how retailers can get the most out of the second half of 2023. The free 40-minute session, at 2pm, delivers practical advice and expert opinion – and attendees will also be able to pose their own questions for the panellists to answer.

• Auto Retail Live business briefing: sign up here

 

WORLD NEWS

CarGurus mulls full takeover of CarOffer

CarGurus, which paid $140m (£113m) for a 51% stake in US vehicle listings company CarOffer in early 2021, is evaluating its option to buy the remaining 49%. The process would formally begin by mid-2024. CarOffer has struggled since mid-2022 but COO Sam Zales says it is poised to break even in Q2 2023.

https://bit.ly/3IKYf68

 

Euro 7 ‘distracting industry from EVs’

Renault CEO Luca de Meo says the EU’s proposed Euro 7 emission rules would distract the automotive industry from electrification. The new rules would apply to cars and vans from July 2025, tightening NOx and CO emissions, and including particle emissions from brakes and tyres.

De Meo thanked the Italian government for opposing them. Italy and its allies say the “have the numbers” to block the Euro 7 regulation.

https://bit.ly/43OF03N

 

 

STOCKWATCH

Closing prices on 26 May 2023 and weekly change

Auto Trader Group 626.4p (-12.6p / -1.9%)

Caffyns 550.0p (n/c)

Halfords 200.6p (+0.9p / +0.4%)

Inchcape 766.0p (-27.0p / -3.4%)

Lookers 83.6p (+0.9p / +1.0%)

Motorpoint 130.0p (-2.0p / -1.5%)

Pendragon 17.74p (+0.12 / +0.6%)

Vertu 61.5p (-2.9p / -4.6%)

 

 

COMING UP

Tuesday, Nationwide house price index

Wednesday, BRC shop price index

Thursday, Auto Trader 2022 results

8 June, Auto Retail Live business briefing: sign up here

 

 

MONEY MATTERS

UK recession warning

The surprise of rising core inflation means Britain will fall into recession by the end of 2023 or early 2024, a top City investment chief has warned. Abrdn investment director Luke Hickmore says inflation will stay higher for longer and the Bank of England’s interest rate profile will have to increase.

“I don’t think it will be a really hard recession, but we will feel it, and people’s incomes are going to come under a lot of pressure from those higher mortgage rates.”

https://bit.ly/3qkYoGP

 

Mortgage costs rise: ‘worse to come’

Britain’s biggest building society has made some mortgages more expensive as the Bank of England interest rate is set to rise higher than previously thought. Interest rates on new Nationwide fixed-rate mortgages will rise 0.45%.

The average two- and five-year fixed-rate mortgages are now 5.35% and 5.02% respectively. In early 2022, they were 2.38% and 2.66% respectively – meaning two- and five-year rates have inverted.

https://bit.ly/3N3daez