4:37 pm, May 24, 2021
Stoneacre Motor Group is remaining tight-lipped over rumours it’s about to buy fellow dealer group RMB Automotive.
Rumours suggest Doncaster-based Stoneacre – which represents 24 brands at more than 100 sites – is in discussions to take over the Toyota, Lexus, Dacia and Renault retailer.
RMB Automotive has showrooms in Stockton-on-Tees, Northallerton and Darlington.
Stoneacre recently opened its fourth dual-franchise Renault-Dacia dealership and said that two others were in the pipeline.
It was eighth in the inaugural Car Dealer Top 100 list of the UK’s most profitable dealers, with an EBITDA profit of £24.77m on turnover of £982.05m. It had a return on sales of 1.8 per cent.
RMB’s latest available accounts, meanwhile, for the year ended December 31, 2019 show it made a pre-tax loss of £285,084 on a £60.85m turnover.
Phil Wade, Stoneacre’s franchise and development director, wouldn’t be drawn on the rumour but he gave Car Dealer the following statement:
‘Stoneacre continues to be acquisitive and plans to grow revenues both organically and through acquisition.
‘We have a great relationship with all of our existing franchise partners and are looking to increase that partnership together with new franchise partners who wish to join the Stoneacre family.
‘We have confidentiality agreements in place, which covers new acquisitions and new partner negotiations.
‘It is always our intention to honour those agreements and therefore only ever prepare press releases once new partners have been confirmed in writing or new acquisitions have transferred.’
Car Dealer has also contacted RMB Automotive for a comment but is yet to hear back.
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