Your top 10: Car deals, property moguls and a kids choir on Dragons’ Den
THIS week kicked off with a major acquisition by listed car dealership giant Lookers.
It is to pay more than £55m for £276m turnover Midlands-based dealership Drayton Group on the condition that it successfully concludes the £120m sale of its parts division to Alliance Automotive UK, which was announced last week and is expected to complete by the end of October.
The luxury car retailer operates from seven locations in Stoke on Trent, Stafford, Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton,
Walsall, Stourbridge and Worcester and will increase Lookers’ Lookers partnership with Mercedes Benz and Smart.
Two days after announcing the deal, Lookers came back with a storming set of half year results – revenues broke the £2bn barrier and adjusted profits reaching more than £50m.
A good couple of weeks all round for chief executive Andy Bruce.
There was also a lot of interest in our exclusive interview with Moya Ball, the sister of well-known Manchester property mogul Carol Ainscow who is credited with launching Canal Street’s first openly gay pub.
Ball told us that the property company launched in the aftermath of Carol’s death will continue regenerating the city’s historic buildings and brownfield sites as Artisan Investments is engaged in a £15m scheme to create 101 more apartments at Vulcan Mill.
Finally, a heads up on tonight’s episode of Dragons’ Den.
Tune in to watch opera singing sisters Claire and Tina O’Brien pitch for investment into their Manchester-based children’s choir Little Belters.
The O’Brien duo, brought up in Wythenshawe, teach five to 11-year-olds to sing in a group setting, ranging from rock anthems and chart hits to classical and folk, but will they win over the Dragons tonight?
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