8:34 am, July 17, 2024
A leading automotive acquisitions expert says he is ‘amazed’ that Vertu has not yet been snapped up by an international buyer.
David Kendrick, from UHY Hacker Young, said the listed dealer group offers ‘exceptional value’ to potential investors amid a growing number of US-based dealer groups setting up business in the UK.
He added that the likes of Lithia and Group 1 are set to become ‘major players’ on this side of the Atlantic after the American outfits agreed deals for Pendragon and Inchcape respectively.
Appearing on the Car Dealer Podcast, Kendrick told hosts James Baggott and Jon Reay: ‘I’m amazed Vertu has not been snapped up already. I really am.
‘I think it’s just sitting there and I cannot believe that one of these internationals has not come in and taken out.
‘It looks exceptional value. It’s got some amazing businesses within it. It’s got some really good people in it but Robert [Forrester] tells me that his phone has not rung yet. so who knows?”
‘I’ve got some shares in Vertu, so I’m still holding tight, hoping that one day someone will come over and offer a load of money for it but it does look extremely good value.
‘We’ve seen all the others go now and there’s some serious players in the UK. Lithia have come in and gone from nothing to a serious player in the market in a very short space of time.
“Group 1 are going to be an absolute giant once Inchcape gets completed, and recently just bought L&L Mercedes, which we were involved in.
‘There’s an awful lot going on at the top end and they just don’t seem to be stopping. I think the big are going to get bigger ultimately.’
When pushed by Baggott on why Vertu has not already been snapped up, Kendrick raised possible regulatory issues as a potential hurdle.
He added: ‘I don’t know whether there’d be a CMA issue on something like that, because you could get to a point where it does become too big. I don’t know.
‘I’m guessing it’s probably considerations that people have looked at and I’m still surprised that nothing has happened in that space but as of today, there’s been no regulatory announcements or anything.
‘There’s a lot of big businesses sniffing around the UK and I’m sure they’re looking very closely at Vertu’.
Keep an eye on Constellation
If any takeover bid does come in for Vertu, one of the major players could be Constellation Automotive Group, which already owns Cinch, We Buy Any Car and Marshalls.
The firm has repeatedly upped its stake in Vertu in recent times but Kendrick thinks a full bid from the group remains unlikely.
He said: ‘It’s an interesting one, isn’t it? I guess it depends whether Martin Casha has got the appetite to bring Vertu into Marshalls now. We saw what they did with Lookers and that was a very, very shrewd investment as it turned out.
‘Are they doing something similar with Vertu? It gives them quite a stake to have a serious influence if there was an approach made by someone outside. It could be a defensive move, it could be an investment move, or conceptually, it could be a move to look at buying it out maybe.
‘I would be quite surprised if it was the latter, but I’ve seen more crazy things happen in this space.’
The Car Dealer Podcast, sponsored by JATO, sees an industry guest join our hosts to discuss the motor trade’s biggest headlines of every week.
You can listen to all episodes of the Car Dealer Podcast on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
