Pendragon to sell California Chevrolet dealership for £17.2m

Pendragon has announced that it will be disposing of its trade and assets of its Chevrolet motor vehicle dealership located in Puente Hills, California.

Scott Biehl, the operator of a privately owned dealership group, will purchase the site for approximately £17.2m.

Pendragon has said that the transaction is in line with its stated strategy of disposing of its US Motor Group and follows the disposal of two dealerships in California for a consideration of around £60m, which was announced in May 2019.

One of these dealerships was its Jaguar Land Rover site in Mission Viejo, California, which was sold for £28.2m.

The overhaul committed management to reshaping the business, making specific cuts in premium brand outlets, expanding its used car and aftersales business, selling off its US division for £100m and expanding the Pinewood software and DMS business.

Pendragon issued a profit warning in June, saying that the first half of 2019 was expected to be significantly loss making. Its shares fell 25% to a six-year low.

The profits fall has chiefly come from the Car Store network, which is expected to incur losses of -£25m in 2019, up from an -£11.9m deficit in 2018.

The new CEO Mark Herbert, appointed in April, left the job in after just three months in an alleged row over strategy and the group is now looking for a new CEO to fill the slot.

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