10:39 am, November 9, 2022
Vertu Motors has said it’s in ‘advanced discussions’ to acquire Helston Garages.
The deal, if successful, would see the Ferrari and Porsche brands joining Vertu Motors’ roster of franchises.
Making the announcement this morning (Nov 9), the listed dealer group said: ‘Vertu Motors confirms that it is in advanced discussions regarding the potential acquisition of Helston Garages Group Limited, a privately owned predominantly premium manufacturer automotive retail group based in the southwest of England.
‘These discussions may or may not lead to a transaction.
‘Funding for the transaction, were it to occur, would be from re-financed and new debt facilities, including long-term mortgage funding.
‘Further announcements will be made in due course as necessary.’
If the Helston Garages deal is successful, it would confirm rumours Vertu is expanding quickly to increase its share of the motor retail pie.
Last month, when revealing its half-year results, the company said it had a ‘strong acquisition pipeline’ in place.
When asked during a Car Dealer Live interview recently – which you can watch at the top of this story – if Vertu intended to purchase Helston Garages, boss Robert Forrester said: ‘I can’t comment on specifics.
‘I think if you rang anybody up and offered them a good price for this [Helston Garages], they’d probably think about wouldn’t they? What with the mayhem that’s out in the world, to be honest.
‘There’s plenty to do in cars and in bikes – I mean we are putting in quite a bit into bikes at the moment.’
Weeks later, Vertu announced it had completed a multi-million-pound deal to buy motorcycle retailer Allan Jefferies.
Helston Garages has been trading since 1960 and was founded by David Stanley Carr and Betty Vera Carr in the Cornish village of the same name.
The husband and wife team have both died and it is believed the beneficiaries of the business did not want to run the business, which has triggered the sale.
The family-owned company holds franchises for BMW, Ferrari, Jaguar Land Rover, Mini, Peugeot, Porsche, Skoda, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Volvo.
It operates its showrooms under a handful of names including Carrs, Yeovil Motor Company, Truro Motor Company, Truscotts and Kastner. It has over 40 sites.
Helston Garages was the 17th most profitable dealer group in the Car Dealer Top 100 in 2021.
It its latest accounts, 2021 return on sales increased by an incredible 4.9 per cent, while turnover rose from £511m in 2020 to £626m. EBITDA profit came to £33.9m.
