Nottingham car giant ready to bring in restructuring specialists

Struggling Nottingham car dealer Pendragon is considering bringing in restructuring experts to halt sliding sales.

Reports over the weekend say the firm began talking to a range of advisers earlier this year, but the process was paused after the shock departure of chief executive Mark Herbert, who quit just three months after taking the job.

The Telegraph says the firm, which owns the Evans Halshaw and Stratsone dealerships, says that Herbert “clashed with the board” over the scale of change needed. It understood that Herbert ordered a review of the operational and financial future of Pendragon just days after taking over the hot seat from industry veteran Trevor Finn.

A Pendragon spokesman said: “Earlier in the year we spoke to a number of firms about helping management to conduct an operational costs review of the business.

“Following the departure of the previous chief executive, that process was put on hold and no decision was made about which partner to proceed with.”

In June, Pendragon said it expects to make a small loss for 2019, with the first-half of the year expected to be “significantly loss making” ahead of returning to overall Group profitability for the second-half.