F&I Management & Training

Non-executive chairman to leave after three years
Inchcape non-executive chairman Peter Johnson is to step down after serving his three year term in that position.

Johnson said: “I will be leaving the group in very good hands and I have no doubt that Inchcape will continue to thrive and build upon its market leading position.”

Peter Johnson is leaving Inchcape
Group chief executive Andre Lacroix said: “Peter has overseen a fundamental change in the group, turning an international conglomerate into the world’s leading car retailer.”

DATED: 16.05.08

FEED: MT

Experian predicts change in car buying habits
SUV sales could drop in the UK as the squeeze on consumer spending gets tighter, according to Experian’s Regional Planning Report.

Until now, rising interest rates, growing debt and environmental concerns have not significantly affected the popularity of larger engine cars such as 4X4s, MPVs and sports cars.
However now, Experian has warned, dealers need to prepare for a possible change in this situation.

Kirk Fletcher, managing director of Experian’s automotive division, said: “While sales are still strong in these segments, they are not as strong as in previous years.

DATED: 16.05.08

FEED: MT

UK operations help to boost dealer group sales by 6.5 per cent
Inchcape has reported an increase in total international sales of 6.5 per cent for the 2007 fiscal year, with sales from continuing operations up 7.2 per cent.
'Inchcape’s UK retail business, which holds the second place in the Motor Trader Top 200, had a like-for-like sales increase of 3.5 per cent, outperforming the UK market by over 4 percentage points.

The group’s headline pre-tax profit in sterling terms was up 5.7 per cent on the same quarter last year, while it was in line with the same period last year in constant currency.
The group said it remains in a sound financial position and, due to the launch of a number of new models in 2008, believes it will be able to build momentum as the year progresses.
Inchcape also said it has high hopes for its expansion into Russia, saying its acquisition of Russian Musa Motors Group is expected to be complete by July 2008.
The group expects to generate £1bn of sales in Russia in 2009.

DATED: 16.05.08

FEED: MT

Luxury dealer group makes announcement in AGM
HR Owen used last week’s AGM to formally welcome Bentley’s decision to acquire a major stake in the listed company and predicted a strong second quarter for the downsized group.

In March Bentley Motors became its main shareholder after buying Australian car distribution company Balverona’s 27.9 per cent stake.

Through its Jack Barclay site in central London, Bentley is HR Owen’s largest manufacturer partner.
“There had been a great deal of potentially destabilising speculation regarding the company’s ownership,” said chairman John MacArthur.
He said the group’s restructure of its business had led to an encouraging start to the year.

DATED: 16.05.08

FEED: MT

HMRC challenge stopped by tribunal
Car dealers have escaped a bill running into hundreds of millions of pounds following the outcome of an important VAT tribunal.

In the first case of its kind to reach tribunal, top 10 group Camden Motors successfully resisted Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs’ challenge to the current system of VAT recovery.

HMRC had opposed motor retailers’ method of calculating how much VAT relates to exempt income, saying it should not be recoverable.
It said dealer groups should consider only the level of profit, rather than income, made by the exempt activities and compare it to profit generated from other activities.

DATED: 15.05.08

FEED: MT

Multi-marque finance arm poised to launch in Britain
BMW Financial Services is going to start promoting its multi-marque finance branch, Alphera Financial Services, in the UK.

While Alphera operates in over 20 markets around the world and has had a presence in the UK since 2006, the company wanted to establish itself fully before any public promotion in Britain.

Pauline Hayes, director of Alphera said: “Over the last two years we've been working to establish the business in the UK and building a nationwide network of partnerships with selected motor dealers.
“Our focus going forward is to continue to expand our network of partners whilst working in conjunction with our existing partners to help develop their businesses.”

DATED: 15.05.08

FEED: MT

Renault-Nissan remains open to the possibility of forming an alliance with a rival carmaker.

Chief executive Carlos Ghosn said there was no rush to expand its alliance but it would be open to negotiations in the future.

“There are two conditions for any expansion of an alliance,” said Ghosn.
“First it has to be friendly, if it's not friendly it's over and second, synergies on the table have to be massive.
“We are not in a hurry but we are realistic enough to say when the opportunity comes we know how to make it work.”

DATED: 15.05.08

FEED: MT

Dealer group reports that it has outperformed the market
Vertu Motors has defied the economic downturn to comfortably outperform the market since it began trading on 27 March 2007.

The group last week reported operating profit before exceptional costs of £3.1m on turnover of £677.2m for the 16 month period since its incorporation to 29 February 2008.

The result was achieved despite not including the key trading month of March 2007.
Pre-tax profit before exceptionals reached £1.8m.
Chief executive Robert Forrester said: “The group has made rapid progress towards its goals of acquiring motor retail businesses and delivering organic profit improvements from these businesses.”
Bristol Street Motors
Vertu was founded in November 2006 but existed as a cash shell until it bought the 35-site Bristol Street Motors Group at the end of March last year and began trading under the Bristol Street banner.

DATED: 15.05.08

FEED: MT

HR Owen is still trying to sell its two Volvo sites after stall in negotiations due to "complex property issues".
The dealer group has been trying to get rid of its Volvo sites since it announced its strategy to focus on specialist prestigious vehicle sales in September last year.
J P MacArthur, HR Owen’s chairman, spoke at the group's AGM and told shareholders that sale of its Volvo business is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year.
MacArthur said the Ferrari and Maserati dealership in St Albans that HR Owen acquired from Inchcape in September 2007 was "performing well". The dual franchise’s aftersales facility will be moving to Park Royal from St Albans in June.
Shortly afterwards, HR Owen will be relocating its BMW and Mini aftersales operation to its Acton service facility, which will centralise all of its BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce service operations.
MacArthur said: "Our decision to downsize and concentrate on our luxury brands business has worked well and I am pleased to report that overall trading for the Group was strong during the first quarter.

DATED: 15.05.08

FEED: AM

Skoda is looking to appoint another 21 franchised dealerships by 2011 taking its network to 152 outlets.
The actual number of new franchisees is likely to be closer to 40 due to forecast average annual network churn of 5-10 sites.
The majority of open points are in metropolitan areas and Skoda has turned to the sponsored retailer programme first developed by its parent company Volkswagen and since used by sister brand Audi. It already has 11 sponsored retailers and will appoint three more within the next couple of months in north Birmingham, Reading and Hull.

DATED: 15.05.08

FEED: AM

Vertu Motors has reported small pre-tax profits of £140,000 from a turnover of £677.2 million turnover from November 1 2006 to February 29, 2008.
The group said the results reflected the fact it only started trading from March 27, 2007 when it purchased the commpany it trades as, Bristol Street Motors Group.
Bristol Street new retail car volumes were up 10.6% on a like for like basis and used retail car volumes were up by 23.6% on a like for like basis.
Vertu made operating profits before exceptionals of £3.1m in its first 11 months of trading, which excluded the peak trading month of March 2007.
Vertu’s share price rose by 4.6% after the announcement of the results.

DATED: 15.05.08

FEED: AM

An FSA crackdown on payment protection insurance (PPI) sales practices across all retail sectors has seen a national retailer fined £210,000.
Its chief executive was also personally fined £14,000.
Any business selling insurance, including motor retailers, is required to have an FSA licence and follow strict procedures.
Furniture retailer Land of Leather was fined by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) after failing to have effective monitoring to ensure PPI was being sold fairly by its sales force.
As a result of the failings, around 58,000 customers were exposed to an unacceptable risk of buying unsuitable PPI products, the FSA said.
The FSA has been taking firm action on the high-value PPI industry in its Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) initiative.

DATED: 14.05.08

FEED: AM

Lookers is confident of delivering another year of growth despite its new car sales dropping by 5% on a like-for-like basis during the first quarter.
The group told shareholders at its AGM that its Northern Ireland business experienced tougher market conditions than the rest of the United Kingdom which dragged down sales figures.
The group added that while it started the current financial year with a much stronger business compared to last year, it remains cautious about organic growth in new car sales within its franchise division.
Lookers it would deliver results in line with market expectations as long as there is “no further significant deterioration in the UK’s economy”.
The company’s acquisitions of Dutton-Forshaw and Bramall and Jones VW are expected to help boost profits in 2008.
These, together with the continuing investment in the independent aftermarket parts division, and the turnaround in the car supermarkets, will contribute positively to the outcome in the current year, the group added.

DATED: 14.05.08

FEED: AM

Autoquake, the online used car retailer, has been guaranteed £6 million of venture capital funding to help the UK business expand internationally.
High Capital Partners is providing the money on top of £3 million which was invested in the company by Accel Partners in 2006.
Autoquake sells used cars on behalf of large corporate fleet and leasing companies directly to consumers at a discount.
Fredrik Skantze, co-founder of Autoquake and chief marketing officer, said: “The money will be invested in more staff and software to help boost sales to 3,000 a month by 2010.”
Autoquake has used car warehouses in Birmingham and Bradford which store and prepare cars before they go on to their new owners. Each site has a built-in valet centre and photo studio where up to 50 pictures can be taken to support the sale of the car online.
Skantze said some of the money would be used to develop another used car site on the outskirts of London which is expected to be open by next summer.
Autoquake will also be moving into Europe next year, but Skantze could not elaborate on further details.
The hike in investment has also been met with some new appointments.
Gary Nicholls has been appointed vice-president of retail operations and Clement Mazen has joined the company to head up customer acquisitions.

DATED: 14.05.08

FEED: AM

Newcastle-based CircleRed, the property development consultant behind the Silverlink Vroom Retail Park, is due to roll out the concept at other locations in the UK.
The announcement follows news that the first Vroom now has seven dealers operating from the purpose built £10 million site and will officially open this month.
Duncan McGregor, managing director CirecleRed, said: "When the Vroom concept was unveiled in 2006 there were some in the industry who said it couldn’t work. That multiple dealers could not exist side by side.
"We have proved that the opposite is true. The critical mass achieved by eight dealers boosts footfall for all. The blue chip environment we have created, surpassing that on offer from many main dealers, would be beyond the reach of individual traders."
McGregor said he now has the facts and figures to support the concept at other cities in the UK. CircleRed was already researching more sites in Sheffield and Edinburgh when the project first started two years ago.
He said: "Having proved the Vroom concept works here in Newcastle we look forward to the challenge of opening further car retail parks of the same standard."
McDougal & Breen, Gosforth Park Motor Company, Northern 4x4 Centre, Silverlink Specialist Cars, Hummer Newcastle, Henson Motor Group and David James are all operating out of the Vroom Retail Park at Silverlink.

DATED: 14.05.08

FEED: AM

In the recent appeal case of Terence Parsons vs Bristol Street Motors it was held that his employer, Bristol Street Motors, had constructively dismissed Parsons.
Parsons resigned from Bristol Street's Oxford dealership in July 2005, four months after a new manager, named in the appeal transript as Mr Lawrence, was recruited.
His resignation followed complaints that Lawrence had physically assaulted him, used foul language and focused on his age by calling him "old buzzard" and "old git", and was overloaded with work which took him away from sales opportunities.
The tribunal rejected evidence of beatings and claims that Lawrence grabbed staff by the testicles, but concluded, following Lawrence's evidence, that he was "indiscriminately tactile with staff whom he slapped on the back, punched in the arm or otherwise touched".
The case was dismissed at an employment tribunal but this ruling was overturned on February 28 by the London Employment Appeal Tribunal, which judged it as unfair constructive dismissal, following conduct likely to destroy trust and confidence.

DATED: 14.05.08

FEED: AM

Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF) bought back ReMIT from Carter and Carter for £62,500 in April this year, after selling it for £25.5 million in May 2006.

It was sold to a shell company, Ingleby (1776), on 10 April 2008.
RMIF has said that the new company will be called ReMIT Ltd
Ingleby (1776) was incorporated on 2 April 2008 and has two directors - Kevin Waterman, RMIF finance director, and Rob Foulston, brought in as ReMIT chief executive from a division of Deutsche Bank.

DATED: 13.05.08

FEED: AM

The Ford family has retained control over the Ford Motor Company by defeating a motion to implement a one-share-one-vote policy at the Detroit-based manufacturer.
The proposal was put forward at the company’s annual meeting of shareholders last week. Although 27% of shareholders voted in favour, 73% voted against.
The Ford family currently controls 40% of the company even though it holds less than 4% of the stock. Each Ford family share carries 16 votes, while an ordinary share represents a single vote.
A similar proposal also failed in 2006.
Chairman Bill Ford, great-grandson of company founder Henry, said that investors were still attracted by the long-term stability provided by the family’s involvement.
He welcomed investment in Ford by US billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, the three-time owner of moviemaker MGM, and thanked Kerkorian’s Tracinda holding company for its confidence in Ford’s business plan. It is building a 5.6% stake through a tender offer.
In 2006 Kerkorian bought a 10% stake in General Motors before selling it within a year after failing to force GM into a three-way alliance with Nissan and Renault.
Kerkorian also made an unsuccessful $4.5 billion bid to acquire Chrysler in 2007.

DATED: 13.05.08

FEED: AM

Luxury brand wants network established next year
Infiniti will provide substantial financial backing to its dealer network to establish the brand in the UK from April 2009.
“We will offer our dealers assistance,” Wayne Bruce, Infiniti Europe’s communication’s director told Motor Trader. As a start-up operation Bruce admitted the dealers initially would have “no car parc for aftersales” to bring in revenue.

But with a sparse network he said the number of cars serviced by each centre would be high as business increased.
The Nissan-owned prestige marque plans to appoint 14 franchised partners in the UK for next year’s launch and Bruce claimed letters of intent had been signed with 80 per cent of them.
Bruce said from October 2008 it would take two years for Infiniti to open 78 centres across western Europe. He said completion of the UK programme depended on the brand’s ability to find suitable properties to serve urban markets.
Infiniti aims to follow in the footsteps of Porsche, which has set up sites on the outskirts of major cities. It expects three quarters of its customers to live in urban areas.

DATED: 13.05.08

FEED: MT

Latest model will be unveiled as part of a teaser campaign
Ferrari has announced it is set to break with industry tradition and will launch its new Grand Tourer sportscar online.
The new site www.ferrarigtcountdown.com has just launched and the car will be revealed over the coming weeks as part of a teaser campaign ahead of the Paris Motor Show in October.

The roar of the new GT’s engine will be the first bit to be revealed to enthusiasts and this will be followed in the next few days by the first photographs of the car.
It is the first time that the Prancing Horse has used the virtual approach and updates and additions to the site will continue until the Paris Show.

DATED: 13.05.08

FEED: MT

Carmakers back the move to develop low emissions technology
Jaguar and Land Rover have “warmly welcomed” the announcement of government funding to enhance the development of technologies that will reduce CO2 emissions.
The Technology Strategy Board and the Department for Transport, via the Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform, have announced the launch of 16 innovative development projects, worth over £52m.

The projects are to receive £23m government investment through the Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform.
Jaguar Land Rover's acting chief executive officer, David Smith, said: “Our engineers are at the forefront of developing new, sustainable technology and as a business we are investing £700m on projects specifically aimed at reducing CO2 emissions.
“We welcome the announcement by the Technology Strategy Board of government funding for these important projects and we fully support the additional £70m of government investment in the Low Carbon Vehicles Integrated Delivery Programme.
“This will assist Jaguar Land Rover, other UK vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers to accelerate and widen programmes to achieve even more substantial CO2 improvements for vehicles.”

DATED: 13.05.08

FEED: MT

Simon Wheeler takes on brand's used car business
Fiat UK has appointed Simon Wheeler to the role of used vehicle remarketing manager.
Wheeler takes responsibility for the disposal of all Fiat Group owned vehicles into the Fiat, and Alfa Romeo dealer networks, alongside managing the brands' used vehicle schemes across the UK.

Previously he worked for the Trader Media Group, MG Rover and the dealer group Dutton Forshaw.
“Fiat Group is a growing force within the UK motor industry and the efficient management of used cars through both the wholesale pipeline and the retail channel is vital,” said Wheeler.

DATED: 13.05.08

FEED: MT