LOOKERS Chief Executive Andy Bruce and Chief Operating Officer Nigel McMinn have stepped down from the Group’s board.
The announcements came after the Lookers warned that it now expects underlying profit for the full year will decline to £20 million – the group’s second profit warning of the year.
No reasons were given for the unexpected departure of Lookers’ two most senior operational executives. Andy Bruce has been with the Group since 2000 and Nigel McMinn since 2013.
The company said chairman Phil White will become interim executive chairman while non-executive director, Richard Walker, will become a part-time executive until permanent successors are found.
Lookers said in a statement that “trading, particularly over recent weeks since mid-September, has been much more challenging than expected.
“Despite the level of orders for new cars both before September and in the first half of the month being satisfactory, we lost momentum as the month progressed and had a much weaker than expected finish.
“Like-for-like unit sales to retail customers declined by -11.5% in the period, being particularly impacted by the group’s volume brands.”
The group is currently going through a portfolio consolidation with 15 retailers identified for closure and all but two will be closed by the end of the year.
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