Arden is close to getting The Cooper BMW and Mini dealerships from Inchcape to Tunbridge Wells, and the deal will be closed until the end of the month.
The resolution to obtain the multi-brand operation on Longfield Road, Tunbridge Wells, will double the representation of the Maidstone-based Arden operation with the German premium car brand, in addition to the company’s current 77.6 million pounds (2018) in Wood, Aylesford. .
Speaking to AM this morning (August 13), The leading Executive of Inchcape UK, James Brearley, showed that the sale, one of a series completed through the retail organisation AM100 in the last 12 months, would be from its “continued strategic retreat from the South”. East and Kent.”
The nearby sale comes nearly a year after Inchcape sold seven sites to Group 1 Automotive and Motorline for a combined total of 21 million pounds, followed by the sale of Inchcape Fleet Solutions (IFS) to its OEM partner, Toyota, last October.
In January, Citygate Automotive showed the acquisition of Inchcape Retail’s Volkswagen dealerships in west London and Twickenham, six weeks after AM announced the deal.
Speaking about the sale of the Tunbridge Wells franchises, Brearley said, “This is just one component of our strategic retreat from South East and Kent. BMW remains a very vital component for the company, but the Tunbridge Wells franchise had a peripheral operation.
Asked whether the Arden transaction would bring an end to Inchcape’s recent run of dealership disposals, Brearley said that more could go if “the right offer came along”, but added: “We still operate businesses down in that South East region and we are quite happy to continue operating those businesses.”
In February, Inchcape’s annual monetary effects in 2019 that, in total, profits from its retail operations in the UK and Europe fell 1.6% year-on-year to 3 billion pounds (2018: 3.05 billion pounds) and a 0.6% drop in advertising profits. EUR 17.5 million (2018: EUR 17.7 million).
However, the organization stated that “its turnover of more than 1% not including 2019 has an effect on the advertised divestments.”
In an industry update last month, the organization said its uk market stock in 2019 had focused on “optimizing our retail site portfolio where we had less to take advantage of prices through a local presence.”
Brearley told AM: “There were some eyebrows raised when we promoted some of the sites we did in the Southeast last year, however, there were corporations we were suffering from to make effective.
“We started this year in better shape and with a one with which we are most comfortable and that is more sustainable for us as a company.”
AM has asked about the agreement with Arden Motor Group, but has still obtained an official response.
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An award-winning news reporter, Tom is Bauer Media’s AM brand news and reporting editor. Its role requires you to stay on top of all industry and business news to dominate the franchised automotive retail sector and the automotive industry in general, while helping to manage magazine production and AM events.
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