Lithia Motors’ Jardine Motor Group takeover talks have highlighted the undervaluation of UK automotive retail companies, analysts have claimed.
Zeus Capital analysts Carl Smith and Mike Allen mentioned in a brand new report that the £300 million mentioned to be provided for the AM100 luxurious franchised dealership operation has as soon as once more demonstrated that UK listed seller group Pendragon, Vertu Motors and Lookers are “materially undervalued”.
The appraisal comes as Cambria Vehicles chairman and chief government Mark Lavery informed an interview with AM revealed as we speak (January 25) that he expects there to be no automotive retail PLCs in existence by 2025.
‘Unseen worth’
Talking solely to AM as a not too long ago re-privatised Cambria ready to launch “chapter two” of its improvement, Lavery mentioned: “By 2025 I don’t suppose we are going to see any as a result of, put merely, the funding alternative that’s there isn’t seen by the funding neighborhood.
“Have a look at the worth attributed to companies like Vertu and Lookers. It’s on no account reflective of their scale or of the 2 completely cracking years that the sector has simply had.”
Lavery’s feedback are echoed within the Zeus Capital report – additionally revealed this morning – which acknowledged: “For most of the UK listed franchised seller Teams, 2021 was a yr of file earnings because of the unprecedented rises in used automotive values all year long.
“Nonetheless, Jardine’s FY21 underlying PBT of £24.5m was a lot decrease than £84.4m for Pendragon, £80.7m for Vertu (yr to twenty-eight Feb 2022), and £90.7m for Lookers.
“Subsequently, for the relative stage of historic profitability, the reported £300m valuation for Jardine makes the UK listed seller Group’s present market capitalisations (Pendragon: £274m, Vertu: £199m, Lookers: £329m) look materially undervalued.”
Zeus added: “A fairer comparability could be in opposition to FY22 efficiency for Jardine, or forecasts for future years, however this info is unavailable. Nonetheless, we predict it’s unlikely that Jardine has materially improved its profitability relative to the listed sellers since FY21, as these seller teams have continued to commerce properly.”
Abroad traders
Zeus described the reported £300m takeover of Jardine makes the UK listed sellers seem “good worth at present ranges” including that completion of the deal might spark additional worldwide entrants and sector consolidation.
An AM information perception report not too long ago discovered that the local weather for automotive retail M&A was “hotting-up” within the UK, with abroad traders in pole place amid beneficial trade charges.
Alistair Cassels, head of automotive advisory at MHA, mentioned: “Over the previous 5 years we have now seen a lot of abroad entrants, together with Motus, Tremendous Group and Group 1, and we all know there may be nonetheless plenty of urge for food from these abroad companies to amass extra.
“As for different newcomers, like Hedin, some may need grown as a lot as they’ll of their dwelling territory and be on the lookout for a brand new alternative. Others might be seeking to benefit from what’s – in some methods – fairly a beneficial local weather for M&A exercise.”
Alongside US-based Lithia’s transfer for Jardine, current M&A exercise from abroad has been seen within the type of Dubai-based franchised automotive retailer AW Rostamani Group’s acquisition of 9 West Method automotive retail websites from Nissan Motors GB and Hedin Automotive’s acquisition of 4 Mercedes-Benz Retail Group dealerships in London.