Arden Motors, which operates BMW and Mini dealerships in Kent, has been acquired by US-based dealer group Lithia And Driveway.
Lithia (LAD) will bolt on the brand new businesses, BMW/Mini Maidstone and BMW/Mini Tunbridge Wells, to Jardine Motors Group, the AM100 retailer which it acquired earlier this 12 months to start out to construct a big scale presence within the UK.
It doubles the scale of Jardine’s relationship within the UK with BMW Group; Jardine already has BMW and Mini dealerships in Milton Keynes and in Bury St Edmunds.
The Tunbridge Wells business had only been in Arden’s hands since 2020, when it bought the dealership from Inchcape.
The acquisition is more likely to add greater than £130 million annual sales to Jardine’s turnover.
Neil Williamson, former Jardine chief executive and now Lithia And Driveway’s UK regional president, said: “Following LAD’s entrance into the UK with the Jardine Motors Group earlier this 12 months, we’ve got all the time stated our desire to grow.”
“Bringing the teams from each Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells along with our existing BMW & Mini businesses in Bury and Milton Keynes further strengthens our ability to serve customers with these exciting brands.
“Our collective efforts will help deliver on our aspirations across the UK and supports our mission of ‘growth powered by people’.”
The deal was managed by David Kendrick and his automotive team at UHY Hacker Young, who represented Arden Group.
Kendrick said: “The acquisition of Arden makes complete sense for Jardine because it compliments their portfolio in addition to expanding their relationship with BMW and Mini significantly. Ross (Daverson) and his team at Arden have built a number one business with strong profitability that can little doubt proceed under its latest group ownership.”
Lithia And Driveway declared ambitions “to develop a market-leading UK presence” after its acquisition of top 10 AM100 motor retailer Jardine Motors Group.
The £300m takeover implies that now three of the ten largest automobile dealers within the UK are owned by American corporations.
Sytner, no.1 within the AM100, is owned by Michigan-headquartered Penske Automotive Group; Group 1 Automotive UK, no.7 within the AM100, is an element of Texas-headquatered Group 1; and the brand new owners of Jardine, no.9, are based in Oregon.
This Article First Appeared At www.am-online.com
