Vertu back on acquisition trail with Hughes Group
02 July 2018
Vertu Motors has bought Home Counties based Hughes Group for £21.8 million. The acquisition marks Vertu’s first purchase for two years.
Hughes, based around Beaconsfield, operates six outlets for franchises including Mercedes, Mercedes Benz Commercial Vehicles, Smart, Skoda, Peugeot and Jeep.
Under the terms of the purchase £12.0m was paid for net assets and £9.8m of goodwill. £1.5m of the goodwill is deferred for 12 months. The operational management of the Hughes business will remain in place following the acquisition.
Hughes’ Mercedes businesses in Beaconsfield and Aylesbury are adjacent to Vertu’s Mercedes operations in Reading, Ascot and Slough and will operate as a single market area.
Vertu expects the purchase to be earnings enhancing in its first full year of ownership.
For the year ended 31 December 2017, Hughes achieved revenues of £150m, EBITDA of £2.8m, PBT of £2.1m and had net assets of £13.7m as at 31 December 2017.
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