12:51 pm, November 30, 2020
Inchcape UK is to sell its Jaguar Land Rover Southampton business to Hendy Group for nearly £30m, it said today (Nov 30).
It follows the announcement of the sale in principle to Vertu Motors of Inchcape’s BMW, Mini and Motorrad showrooms in Durham, Malton, Sunderland, Teesside and York, as well as its Used Car Centre in York, as reported by Car Dealer.
Inchcape has said it is looking to make its business ‘more efficient and effective’.
It bought the land in Wide Lane, Southampton, in 2017 to build the Arch Concept dealership, which was completed and opened in January 2019. Inchcape said it had traded profitably since then.
It is being sold for £29.65m.
James Brearley, chief executive of Inchcape UK, said: ‘We are pleased to hand over the Southampton business to our preferred buyer, Hendy Group – a significant operator in this region.
‘We are extremely grateful to the management team of the Southampton business who have worked hard to ensure success from day one, and we are confident that they will continue to thrive as part of the future success of Hendy Group.
‘The sale represents very well the underlying value in JLR Arch retailers in the UK, and some of the proceeds will be reinvested to complete our JLR Arch portfolio in East Anglia and Guildford.
‘JLR continues to be a core partner for Inchcape both in the UK and globally.’
Hendy Group chief executive Paul Hendy said: ‘We are delighted to acquire this high-quality business from Inchcape and to grow our representation with JLR in the heart of our territory where the company started 160 years ago.
‘JLR is a major partner of the company and we look forward to welcoming our new colleagues to Team Hendy.’
The sale, which is understood to be the first of a JLR Arch business in the UK, is set to complete on December 11.
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