10:55 am, May 1, 2024
Lloyd Motor Group has completed the acquisition of Cumbrian car dealer N&M Walkingshaw Limited for an undisclosed fee.
The family-run business has been part of the furniture in the north of England since being founded in 1968, currently representing Volkswagen and Kia in Workington.
The deal marks Lloyd Group’s first franchise partnership with VW and sees the group expand into an area of the country where it previously had no sites.
Sam Lloyd, managing director of the Car Dealer Top 100 group, said: ‘We are delighted to announce our acquisition of N&M Walkingshaw Limited in Workington.
‘The acquisition will see us adding the Volkswagen brand to our portfolio whilst also strengthening our market position with Kia.
‘The two brands represent an exciting opportunity for us. Walkingshaw has been a successful, family run business for over 50 years so they feel like a great fit for Lloyd Motor Group in terms of ethos and geography.
‘We’re very much looking forward to getting started and we wish Andrew [Walkingshaw] all the best for the future.’
Explaining why the time was right to sell, Andy Walkingshaw, managing director of Walkingshaw’s, said: ‘The business has been in our family for 56 years and it has been fantastic to us, however with no succession and the market continuing to consolidate we felt it was the right time to allow a larger group to take the business on to the next level.
‘I have no doubt Sam and Bryan will look after our team and continue the success of the business.”
The deal was managed by David Kendrick and his automotive team at UHY Hacker Young who represented Walkingshaw with the sale.
Kendrick added: ‘Single site dealerships are becoming more and more challenging and with Volkswagen group encouraging their ideal network plan, it is making it even tougher for operators like Walkingshaw.
‘Andy and his family have built up a great business, however it makes sense for Lloyd to take it forward and I guess they will be looking to increase their VWG footprint moving forward.’
