29 March 2019

South coast-based Hendy Group has bought neighbouring Westover Group for and undisclosed sum. The move means Hendy will hit its stated £1 billion turnover target this year.

The deal will add 21 franchise points around Bournemouth, Poole and Salisbury to Hendy’s existing 38 points taking the total to 59.

Westover represents Fiat, Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Renault, Dacia, Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, Kia, Hyundai, Lotus and Skoda. While Hendy already represents Ford, Kia, Mazda, Honda, MG, Iveco, Renault, Seat, Dacia and Suzuki brands in Devon, Hampshire and West Sussex into East Sussex, Surrey and Kent.

In the most recent accounts, covering 2017, Hendy had a turnover of £533 million and a pre-tax profit of £5.0m, while Westover had a turnover of £337m and a pre-tax profit of £5.3m.

Both companies have long histories in the South of England with Hendy originally founded 160 years ago and Westover first setup in 1923.

Commenting on the acquisition, chief executive, Paul Hendy (pictured) said: “Westover is a hugely successful group and shares our philosophy of delivering a premium service and putting the customer and its employees at the heart of operations. It’s very much business as usual and all the dealerships will continue under the Westover name for the immediate future as the business is integrated into the Hendy Group.”

The acquisition means Hendy Group now operates 26 franchises from 83 outlets and reinforces the group’s portfolio in Dorset, where the group already operates truck dealerships.

Westover chairman Peter Wood, said: “After more than 50 years in the motor industry I have decided that it is time to bow out. Westover has been my passion now for more than 40 years and to find a suitable company to hand it over to which has the same ethos of looking after its staff and customers has not been easy. We believe that in Hendy we have found that, and from the beginning of my discussions with Paul Hendy it became clear that the manner and way we operate our businesses was very similar.”

As part of the new structure Paul Dillon, who was managing director of Westover, remains with the group and will continue as managing director.

To read our interview with Paul Hendy in the April issue of Auto Retail Bulletin. If you’re not already a subscriber, you can sign up for a free trial by contacting us here.

Tags: Hendy Group, Paul Hendy, Westover