JOHN Clark Motor Group has bought Morrisons Garages Limited and Morrisons Land Rover Limited in Stirling.
The business includes Land Rover, Jaguar and Seat, and the deal – for an undisclosed sum – will add an additional 80 colleagues to the group’s current 1,264-strong team.
Like John Clark Motor Group (JCMG), Morrisons of Stirling is a family-run business, and both group chairman John Clark, pictured, and group managing director Chris Clark said they were delighted that a family member, Andrew Morrison, had expressed a wish to remain involved in the company. He will continue to work at operational and strategic levels, while helping to integrate some of the JCMG strategy, values and processes.
John Clark said: ‘This is a hugely positive step for the group as we continue to build on our premium portfolio and further cement our presence in the central belt of Scotland. Acquiring the Morrisons businesses will help to strengthen our position as one of the leading automotive businesses in Scotland and fits perfectly with our longer-term strategy.
‘Working alongside Andrew will also be a great benefit for the group, as his previous knowledge of the company, the team and its customers will help to ensure that this transition is as seamless as possible.’
Morrison said: ‘I am looking forward to working with the team at John Clark Motor Group and believe the cultural fit of the two businesses being family-run will be a benefit to us all. Furthermore, we both have a strong focus on providing an excellent service, and following discussions with Chris and John, I can see this going from strength to strength.’
The company will continue to operate under the Morrisons banner, recognising the years of long-standing service and customer loyalty that the business is renowned for in Stirling and the surrounding area.
JCMG is currently one of the UK’s top 20 motor trade businesses. During 2016, turnover grew by five per cent to £703m from £667m the previous year and profit before tax was at 1.2 per cent of sales, which remained above the UK motor trade national average, despite volatile marketing conditions.
With the addition of Morrisons of Stirling, the company now represents 13 brands across 33 sites, as well as operating two used car stores: Motorchoice in Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
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