When UHY Hacker Young Manchester joined CP at the beginning of October, we welcomed over 160 people and one of the UK’s finest automotive advisory businesses to the team.
Led by David Kendrick, Head of North, Head of Automotive and Corporate Finance Partner at CP, their deep specialisms, knowledge of the sector, reputation and connections in the market make their service best-in-class. And when it comes to deals and M&A, that’s never rung truer.
We caught up with the team to recap on a stellar year. Read some of the highlights and hear from David below.
DRIVING DEALS FORWARD
The team supported on 13 high-profile deals throughout the year, with a combined deal value of over £570m.
They included:
- Mon Motors acquiring seven West Country car dealerships from Heritage Automotive, including Cheltenham Audi, Gloucester Skoda, VW Bristol, VW Weston-Super-Mare, Bristol Skoda, Gloucester Cupra and Bristol Cupra (advisory / transaction services)
- Ancaster Group acquiring long-standing, Surrey-based Skoda dealership, Allams of Epsom (advisory / transaction services)
- Vertu Motors acquiring Doncaster-based Burrows Motor Company, adding five Toyota dealerships, two Mazda showrooms and one Kia dealership to its growing network (financial due diligence)
- Soper of Lincoln, a global automotive retailer and the second-largest BMW retailer in the UK, on their sale to Group 1 Automotive (lead advisory)
- Bowker Motor Group acquiring Porsche Centre Bolton from Lithia Motors Group (advisory / transaction services)
- Inchcape’s sale of their UK retail operations to Group 1 Automotive (transaction services)
- The JCB Group acquiring two Ashford Orbital Mazda and Kia dealerships in Kent (financial due diligence)
- D.M. Keith Motor Group acquiring Colin Appleyard Limited, one of the longest established Suzuki and Subaru dealer groups in the UK (financial due diligence)
- D.M. Keith Motor Group acquiring Trust Ford Bradford, part of the world’s largest Ford dealer group (advisory / transaction services)
- JCB Group acquiring Volkswagen Tunbridge Wells (advisory / transaction services)
- Alan Day Motor Group acquiring Hummingbird Motors, Kia’s flagship London showroom (financial due diligence)
- L&L Automotive’s sale to Group 1 Automotive, adding four Mercedes sites in Hertfordshire to the Group (lead advisory)
- N&M Walkinshaw’s sale to Lloyds Motor Group, boosting the Group’s offering in West Cumbria with Volkswagen and Kia (lead advisory)
- Creditas’ sale to Evolution Funding, the UK’s largest used auto finance platform (lead advisory)
- Dragon 2000’s sale to Lacour Group, contributing to the strengthening of the groups position as a leading software platform (lead advisory)
David Kendrick commented:
“It has been a strange year for transaction activity within the sector – plenty of transactions completed by our team and some huge moves at the top end with the larger groups getting even larger! Profitability for many in 2024 will be back on previous years and an anticipation that 2025 will be similar / consistent with this year, perhaps making valuations more straight forward.
Moving into 2025 we have a strong pipeline of deals and we would expect to see activity levels remaining similar, with further groups consolidating and OEMs pushing for reduced network partners.”
THE KEYS ARE IN THE IGNITION
The team has enjoyed another highly active year in the automotive space, showcasing their industry-leading sector knowledge and connections. On top of the deals they’ve helped orchestrate, they’ve also hosted supercar driving experiences, been nominated for multiple deals awards, and sponsored the highly prestigious AM Awards, known for rewarding excellence to businesses, teams and individuals within the motor retailing industry.
Now, the team is set for another astounding year in the automotive sector, with an impressive pipeline of deals on the horizon for 2025. Keep an eye on CP’s latest insights from the automotive industry to stay up to date. And if you have any questions, get in touch and our auto specialists will be happy to help.
