Pentagon Motor Group has continued its 2019 car dealer network expansion by completing the acquisition of Sytner Group’s Seat UK franchised location in Huddersfield.
The AM100 retail group, which was acquired by the vehicle division of Imperial Holdings SA, the Motus Corporation, back in August 2017, has followed its addition of three Ford sites, a Vauxhall dealership and two additional Peugeot locations this year with the acquisition of the Spanish brand’s West Yorkshire car retail location from the AM100’s largest retail group.
News of the acquisition follows AM’s article detailing Sytner’s plan to cut its Volkswagen representation by a third, by closing one dealership and selling four to Johnsons Cars.
Pentagon’s acquisition of the franchise was completed on November 19, bringing its total representation with the brand to four sites, with Huddersfield joining existing dealerships in Oldham, Scunthorpe and Nottingham.
All 29 existing Sytner Group staff at the Huddersfield dealership have transferred to the Pentagon Group operation under normal TUPE regulations.
Speaking on behalf of Pentagon Motor Group managing director, David Lewis, said, “We are very impressed with Seat’s ongoing growth this year, breaking past the previous record year.
“Seat’s sales volume is currently up just over 9% year-on-year, despite a UK market that is down by nearly 3%, showing continuing strong progress by the brand.
“At Pentagon we look forward to continuing our developing investment with Seat.”
Richard Harrison, managing director of Seat UK, said: “Our business continues to grow, with the launch of Tarraco and CUPRA Ateca helping us reach record sales and a market share of 3% so far in 2019.
“The future looks even brighter with six new model launches before the end of 2020, as we electrify the SEAT range and develop CUPRA with its first stand-alone model, the Formentor.”
“As our franchise grows, our investor relationships will naturally evolve, and so this acquisition by Pentagon makes good sense, with two excellent retail partners making a strategic move that will enable Pentagon to gain further benefits of scale with Seat and Cupra, and build upon the great partnership we already have with the team.”
Pentagon, which is part of Motus Group (UK), completed the planned closure of its Nissan car franchise in Huddersfield at the end of September. Its Nissan dealership in Barnsley was unaffected.
The Group now operates 50 franchise outlets across a range of major vehicle manufacturers, with 26 sites across the East Midlands, North West, South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
Rob Truscott, CEO of Motus operations in the UK, said: “We are always happy to consider opportunities to grow our business. Not growth at any price, but wherever we feel we have the ability to invest sensibly for the future.
“Seat is a brand with a strong and still-growing profile in the UK and we are delighted to be able to add this fourth dealership to our portfolio.
“We are grateful to the Sytner Group for their willingness to support our interests in the brand.”