Bullish growth for Lookers as acquisition drive continues

MANCHESTER-based car dealer group Lookers has posted its eighth consecutive year of record profits at £91.8m, as it vows to continue its strategy of adding value through acquisition.

The company’s pre-tax profits were up 46% on the previous year but did include an exceptional profit of £28m resulting from the sale of its parts division in November for £126m.

Revenues increased 17% to £4.3bn for the year to the end of December 2016.

Lookers said Knights BMW/MINI and Drayton Mercedes-Benz, which it acquired during the financial year, had now been successfully integrated.

And while the company disposed of ten underperforming dealerships during the period, it said it had the balance sheet available to be able continue to  focus on the acquisition of further brands for its motor division.

Andy Bruce, chief executive of Lookers, said: “We know our strategy of having the right brands in the right locations and excellent execution is the right one – and during the year we’ve managed our portfolio of dealerships to reflect that.

“Generating shareholder value through acquisitions is one of the things we do best. We will be making more acquisitions and have the balance sheet strength to do so.”

Bruce added that Lookers had made a “good start” to the current financial year, with a healthy order book for the delivery of new cars in the important month of March.

“Our strategy of acting as a consolidator – and growing organically – leaves us ideally placed for growth and increased earnings in 2017 and beyond,” he added.

The company will pay a final dividend of 2.36p, pushing the total dividend per share up 17% to 3.64p for the year.