Lithia enters U.K. with acquisition of Jardine Motors

Lithia Motors Inc., as part of its aggressive dealership acquisition strategy, has succeeded in its bid to enter the United Kingdom, with the purchase of Jardine Motors Group, CEO Bryan DeBoer confirmed to Automotive News.

DeBoer said the deal, which closed Wednesday, was "more affordable than what we typically find ... in the United States," but he did not disclose the amount.

Britain's Sky News, citing a source, on Wednesday reported the price to be around £300 million to £400 million ($361.6 million to $482.1 million).

While the acquisition will not add brands to Lithia's portfolio, it will add depth, DeBoer said. For instance, the deal gives Lithia its second and third Ferrari stores.

Jardine Motors has more than 40 new-vehicle franchise points in the U.K., with a portfolio of luxury brands including Aston Martin, Porsche and BMW, DeBoer said.

Part of the conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings, Jardine is Europe's 23rd-largest dealership group by annual revenue, according to Automotive News Europe's 2022 Guide to Europe's Biggest Dealers.

The deal will add $2 billion to Lithia's annual revenue, DeBoer said. In 2022, the company's revenue surged 24 percent to $28.23 billion.

"And more importantly, it gives us a foundation to grow more in the United Kingdom, which is helping us drive towards our $50 billion target for 2025," DeBoer said during the interview Wednesday evening with Automotive News.

DeBoer said the deal will bring about 2,700 employees to Lithia and that Jardine CEO Neil Williamson will stay on.

"We're really looking to him to lead the organization forward and hopefully be able to continue to grow the business and provide the United Kingdom customers the special experience that Jardine has always provided," DeBoer said.

DeBoer said Williamson brings expertise in the market and had been with Jardine for about a decade.

“He seemed to have the desire to want to grow, and I think the parent company was really looking to divest,” DeBoer said. “So they were in this quandary between growth or divestiture, and obviously, they chose divestiture.”

Lithia becomes the third publicly traded U.S. auto retailer with stores in the U.K., joining Penske Automotive Group and Group 1 Automotive. Shares in Lithia fell 4 percent to $211.51 in early trading Thursday.

Analysts said the slump shouldn’t be a surprise. Stephens Inc. on Thursday released a report about the acquisition, noting news of the deal already was baked into the market this week.

“We believe the U.K. luxury market is strong, but we expect a negative reaction today as this could fuel fears around fewer M&A deals in the U.S. (we don't believe this is the case),” the report said.

Said DeBoer: “This is more of a strategy to start to plant seeds for future growth. Our main goals for revenue growth are domestically, in the United States.

“We believe that this will be a good year for domestic growth as well at Lithia ... and hopefully we'll have further announcements later in the year.”

Since Lithia began work in 2020 to quadruple its revenue to $50 billion by 2025, the company has made big splashes in the buy-sell market.

In April 2021, it purchased Michigan's Suburban Collection, which added 34 stores to the Medford, Ore., retailer and a presence in the Midwest.

Lithia first entered the international market by way of Canada in August 2021, when it purchased Pfaff Automotive Partners. The deal gave Lithia access to major markets such as Toronto and Vancouver.

Last month, Automotive News reported that Lithia in 2022 knocked AutoNation from the No. 1 spot to become the largest U.S. dealership group, selling 271,596 new vehicles.

The Jardine deal is not Lithia's first attempt to enter the U.K. In 2021, DeBoer signaled his interest in the market.

Last year, Sky News identified Lithia as the unidentified bidder in a failed deal to buy Pendragon, one of the largest auto retailers in the U.K. Pendragon, in an Aug. 5 regulatory filing, said a nonbinding bid for the dealership group was presented and later withdrawn. The bid was valued at $558.35 million, Reuters reported at the time.

DeBoer said the group got a tip that Jardine may sell while in discussions with Pendragon, and that it wasn't the first time Lithia had considered the company.

"We actually had it on our radar a number of years ago but didn't assume that because it was held by a larger company that it was ever going to be for sale," DeBoer said. "Fortunately it was, and we could agree on terms. ... We liked their team, and they seem to like us, so it was really easy."

Jack Walsworth contributed to this report.