Motor group signs deal to push its revenues over £200m mark
MOTOR retailer Vantage has bought three sites from listed rival Lookers in a £13m deal which will ensure turnover passes the £200m mark.
The Knaresborough-headquartered group now has 25 dealerships across the North and Midlands after snapping up two Toyota and one Lexus site in Leeds and Wakefield. Vantage is planning on spending £1m on their refurbishment.
The £12.7m deal will see staff numbers rise from 500 to 600 and annual turnover pass the £200m mark.
The dealerships were formerly operated by the £700m-turnover Benfield Group which was acquired by Lookers plc last year.
Vantage is the trading name of the Meridian Motor Group, of which Lookers plc chairman Phil White is a 30% shareholder.
Vantage now has 12 Toyota dealerships, making it one of the largest Toyota groups in the UK, and represents eight manufacturers including Toyota, Lexus, Kia, Skoda, Citroen, Mazda, Honda and Hyundai.
Mark Robinson, the founder and managing director of Vantage Motor Group and chairman of the Toyota Dealer Council in the UK, said: “This is not about doing deals for the sake of doing deals but because they make a perfect fit – strategically, geographically and culturally.
“Vantage and Benfield share a philosophy of putting employees and customers at the very heart of business and matching both with great products.”
Vantage were advised on the deals by Walker Morris, Colliers CRE and Grant Thornton with funding provided by Toyota Financial Services.
The Walker Morris team was headed by Tom Mieszkowski and Judith Pike, with Colliers CRE headed by David Chittenden.
