Copeland Automotive Group buys two Cape Cod stores from Prime

A Boston-area dealership group has expanded its reach into Cape Cod.

Copeland Automotive Group of Brockton, Mass., on Monday acquired Prime Subaru Hyannis and Prime Chevrolet Hyannis from Prime Automotive Group of Westwood, Mass.

Terms of the transaction weren't disclosed, but the stores have been renamed Copeland Subaru Hyannis and Copeland Chevrolet Hyannis. They are located on the same piece of property in Hyannis, Mass.

"It just made sense," owner Todd Copeland said. "I'm not looking to make huge growth, but it's something right in my wheelhouse being a local Cape Cod resident. I'm familiar with the Chevrolet brand, and I've always wanted to own a Subaru store. It kind of fell right in front of me, and it was a great opportunity."

With the acquisition, Copeland Automotive has five dealerships and its second Chevrolet franchise. Its other stores are Copeland Toyota, Copeland Volkswagen and Copeland Chevrolet, all in Brockton, south of Boston.

Copeland has a partner in the newly acquired Cape Cod stores — Bryan Scarpellini, the general manager at both stores. He led their operations under Prime.

Prime owned the stores for less than three years, acquiring them in September 2018, according to a press release.

Prime now has 34 dealerships, Prime CEO Todd Skelton said.

"We have no intention of selling any additional stores, and, specifically, none of our stores are listed for sale," Skelton told Automotive News.

Last month, Prime sold Prime Toyota-Boston in West Roxbury, Mass., to Terry Taylor, one of the country's largest owners of dealerships. Also in March, Prime sold two other Toyota stores in Massachusetts to Group 1 Automotive Inc.
 

Divesting the five dealerships was the result of a process Prime began last summer.

"The sales are part of a larger Prime strategy to consolidate operations in the Northeast and are the culmination of agreements with manufacturers," the company said in a March statement.

In August, Prime said it had reached confidential agreements with Toyota Motor Sales USA and distributor Subaru of New England that settled threatened franchise terminations and other disputes. The retailer, at the time, wouldn't disclose whether the settlements required Prime and its majority owner, GPB Capital Holdings, to sell any of its then five Toyota or three Subaru of New England dealerships.

The divestitures are separate from litigation and federal government action involving GPB, an alternative-asset management firm.

GPB CEO David Gentile and two associates were charged by the U.S. Justice Department in February with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and securities fraud. Gentile, who stepped down as GPB's CEO, also was charged with wire fraud and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Several state governments also have brought actions against GPB and individual defendants.

In February, a federal judge in New York ordered the appointment of an independent monitor to oversee GPB as part of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit alleging securities fraud.

Earlier this month, the court-approved monitor recommended that he remain in place for another six months. The amended monitor order states he will remain in place until terminated by the court.

Haig Partners, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., buy-sell firm, advised Prime in the sale of the Chevrolet and Subaru stores. Copeland did not use a broker.

Prime Automotive Group ranks No. 18 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., with retail sales of 31,529 new vehicles in 2020.