IN one of the biggest deals announced for some time, Marshall Motor Holdings has completed a £64.5 million takeover of the Motorline Group from the Obee family.
The move adds 48 outlets to Marshall’s network of 115 dealerships across 29 counties, representing 22 manufacturers. The deal now brings in an additional eight counties.
The acquisition was funded from Marshall’s existing cash resources and its brand coverage now amounts to 85.4% of the market.
Motorline had revenues of £695.2m in 2020 and its 1,500 staff will transfer to Marshall whose Chief Executive Daksh Gupta said the acquisition was in line with a strategy which includes growing both further scale with existing brand partners and developing scaled relationships with selected new brand partners.
He added that Marshalls is delighted to begin new and significant partnerships with Toyota/Lexus and Hyundai.
With Motorline’s seven Nissan franchises Marshall becomes Nissan’s fourth largest retailer, with 10 sites, and it is Peugeot’s second largest, with four extra sites taking its total to seven.
Motorline chairman Glen Obee said in a statement: “Following a period of almost 50 years from when our father founded Motorline in 1972 and having worked within our family business for over 40 years, my brother Thomas and I have decided to retire from the industry that we have enjoyed working within throughout our careers.
“We would like to pay tribute to the hard work and commitment of our employees and to our brand partners for their support and contribution to the outstanding success Motorline has been able to achieve.”
Motorline, headquartered in Canterbury, operates across Kent, West Sussex, Surrey, Berkshire, Bristol, South Wales and the West Midlands.
It represents 10 brands including Toyota, Lexus, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Audi, ŠKODA, Nissan, Peugeot, and Maserati.
Motorline shareholders were advised by David Kendrick, Head of Automotive at UHY Hacker Young, who said: ““Delighted to have assisted the Motorline shareholders on the sale of their substantial group. The business has grown a huge amount over the last decade and not only introduces Toyota and Lexus to the Marshall portfolio, but also significantly increases their footprint across the UK.
“One of the biggest deals done in a very long time and it remains a very active market elsewhere too!”
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