Investor pays £11m for Lookers stake
AN investment company owned by property tycoon Jack Petchey has bought more than 21% of car dealership group Lookers.
The Stretford-based company, which has a market value of around £52.6m, saw its shares dive to 21p when it announced a profit warning four weeks ago, and has been seen in the City as a good value investment since then.
The shares have bounced back since then, and were trading at 30p when Isle of Man-based investment company Trefick paid between £11.2m and £11.6m for 38,711,800 shares which totaled a 21.3% stake.
A couple of weeks ago, Trefick also revealed a 12% stake in rival car dealer Pendragon, up 1.5%, after converting a derivative interest.
The other major shareholder in Lookers is industry veteran Tony Bramall, who with his family holds nearly 23% of the shares.
The company operates more than 100 showrooms nationwide. Like its peers it has been hard-hit by the slump in new car sales. Its shares were trading at 88p a year ago.
