National motor retailer Lookers will be making a significant investment in its dealership network with the purchase of Drayton Group, the four-time winner of Mercedes-Benz Retailer of the Year award. Drayton Mercedes-Benz is a respected and well-established name in the West Midlands for vehicle sales, servicing and more for the luxury German brand.
The acquisition of Drayton Group reinforces Lookers position as one of largest motor retailers in the UK. The £55.4m purchase of Drayton Group includes 7 dealerships, bringing the number of Lookers Mercedes-Benz locations in the network to 14. Lookers now have a total of 160 dealerships in the nationwide motor dealer network.
The acquisition is another show of confidence by the company in the wider UK automotive market and follows other key acquisitions, including last year’s £87.5m purchase of North East based Benfield and its 30 strong dealership portfolio.
The purchase of Drayton Group is expected to be complete towards the end of October and comes as Lookers refocuses its attention on expanding its core Motor Division following the recent agreement to sell the Parts Division for £120m.
Drayton Group is based in Stafford, Stoke, Shrewsbury, Stourbridge, Worcester, Walsall, and Wolverhampton. Each location is staffed by friendly professionals who are fully committed award winning teams. The location of Drayton Group dealerships complement the existing network of seven Lookers Mercedes-Benz dealerships across Sussex and Kent.
Mercedes-Benz is continuing to increase in popularity in the UK. 2015 market share of Mercedes-Benz was 5.56%, up from 5.05% on the previous year. Mercedes-Benz and Lookers are confident this growth will continue with more new exciting models coming to the market. New launches include the all-new 2017 Mercedes-AMG GLC43, Mercedes-AMG GT R, 2017 CLA to name only a few
Lookers Chief Executive Andy Bruce said: “The acquisition of the Group is a perfect fit in terms of franchise, geography and culture. The Drayton Group is a business that we have respected for many years because of its fantastic reputation.
“Together we will now be the largest Mercedes-Benz dealers in the country and one of the largest motor groups in the UK. Importantly though, despite our size, Lookers still feels like a family business that cares about its people. We believe every dealership is unique and will have its own profile of customers with their own particular demands.
“We are currently seeing a lot of opportunity in the prestige car market as demand increases among the UK’s discerning motorists. We know that Mercedes-Benz is a fantastic brand with a rich heritage and is one that Lookers has worked well with, built and developed as part of our national network of motor dealerships.”
