Bumper takeover deal for car dealership giant with string of Scottish showrooms

Founded in Manchester in 1908 by John Looker, the business originally sold bicycles, and the occasional used car. It quickly switched to selling mainly cars, and in 1973 it listed on the London Stock Exchange. In Scotland, the group has a string of Audi dealerships, including in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling. It bought the historic Taggarts car business, founded in 1896, some time ago but recently phased out the brand from the Land Rover, Jaguar and Volvo showrooms. Lookers reported a pre-tax profit of £84.4m last year on revenue of £4.3 billion. It employs some 6,500 people.

Alpha Auto Group will buy the business through its subsidiary Global Auto Holdings Limited, referred to as Bidco in the stock exchange filing.

Lookers chairman Paul Van der Burgh said: “After a period of extensive engagement between the parties, the offer represents an attractive opportunity for our shareholders to realise cash now for their investment at a significant premium to the prevailing share price. We have spent considerable time reviewing the potential impact of Bidco’s ownership on Lookers’ wider stakeholders and are confident that the commitments given by them will protect stakeholder interests. Bidco has clearly outlined its commitment to continue supporting our customers, operations, communities, and most importantly our talented and committed people.”

Kuldeep Billan, executive chair of AAG, added: “With the UK auto retail market undergoing substantial change, including the adoption of new distribution models, we believe that the wider group is well positioned to navigate the current environment with geographically diversified operations and a focus on operational excellence.”