Car dealerships race for £1bn turnover after merger
SOUTH Yorkshire car dealership Stoneacre, a £440m turnover firm, is driving ahead with the acquisition of rival Autoworld, its largest since its founding in 1994.
The deal was completed for an undisclosed sum, as part of Stoneacre’s plans to reach a £1bn turnover target.
Chesterfield-based Huntson Holdings, which trades as Autoworld, was represented by UHY Hacker Young’s automotive partner, David Kendrick who represented Autoworld.
Stonacre operate in 32 locations, and the addition of Autoworld to its portfolio will increase this by an additional £85m.
The Autoworld group operates the Citroen, Alfa Romeo, Hyundai, Fiat, SEAT, Suzuki, Volvo, Triumph and Harley Davidson brands.
The company employs around 230 people and as at delivered pretax profit of £1.4m on turnover of £78m, with net assets of £10.4m.
The Preistnall family who owned Huntson Holdings Plc have decided to “focus their interests outside of the automotive industry.”
Stoneacre group managing director, Shaun Foweather said: “We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Autoworld which extends our relationship with a number of manufacturers. It also firmly highlights our strategy to grow Stoneacre as a group across the UK.
“The business we are acquiring has a history of strong profits due to some great people working there and we very much look forward to welcoming them into the Stoneacre family.”
David Kendrick, partner, UHY Automotive said: “Autoworld is a fantastic business that has delivered strong profits for a number of years now. This transaction again highlights the fact that the larger groups are continuing to consolidate and is a statement of intent from Stoneacre that they are looking to grow to this £1bn turnover target.”
