Marshall Motor Holdings plc has acquired Škoda Leicester and Nottingham. Having gone into effect on 1 February 2019, both dealerships will be rebranded as Marshall Škoda with immediate effect.
Daksh Gupta, Marshall Motor Holdings plc chief executive said: “This acquisition is in line with our strategy of growth with existing brand partners in new geographic territories. The cities of Nottingham and Leicester are the ninth and 13th largest in the UK and we believe the acquired businesses have significant potential for growth and improvement in operating performance.”
Paul Abraham, Marshall Škoda franchise director added: “We are excited to extend our relationship with ŠKODA and this sees us becoming one of their largest franchise partners in the UK with seven locations – Barnstaple, Croydon, Leicester, Newbury, Nottingham, Oxford and Reading. The brand is in a very strong position and we are delighted to represent Škoda in new territories that we know very well.”
Marshall is ranked seventh on the Motor Trader Top 200 list, with a turnover of 2.26bn.
The group recently became a member of the UK Automotive 30% Club, established in 2016 by Julia Muir, Gaia Innovation CEO, to bring together automotive manufacturers, retailers and suppliers. The aim of the club is to work towards having women in 30% of key leadership positions by 2030.
It also expects its underlying profits before tax to be ahead of the record results it reported last year. It said it experienced better than anticipated trading during October 2018 and was expecting a more positive outlook for the remainder of the current financial year.