Rainworth Motor Group targets expansion after Skoda Retailer of the Year win

Rainworth Motor Group is on the lookout for “sleepy” car retailers in need of operational improvement as it targets growth through acquisition after winning Skoda UK’s Retailer of the Year award.

DM Keith, Johnsons Cars, Meadens and West End Garage emerged with awards as Rainworth’s Mansfield dealership claimed the top accolade at the Czech manufacturer’s annual awards, leaving directors Jon Atherton and Simon Beckett to celebrated with their team.

And the pair told AM that the success had galvanised their desire to grow after a dealer profile feature in 2020 led to their first acquisition in 13 years.

“We’re still keen to expand and are always open to discussions,” said Beckett, who joined Atherton in paying tribute to the group’s workforce after the Mansfield team’s win.

“Though we can’t sweep in and buy 20 sites like some groups can, I think we might look like an appealing option to a small owner-driver that is wanting a similar business to buy their business and looks after the business and its staff in a similar fashion

“Growing with Skoda of Hyundai would be ideal, but I guess what we’d like is a sleepy business that we can really make operational improvements to. That’s what we do well, I think.”

Rainworth’s last acquisition came in the form of Huddersfield Hyundai and Isuzu franchisee R N Golden.

That deal was completed in May 2021 and came after exposure in AM opened conversations with previous owner Matt Golden.

The move doubled Rainworth’s scale, adding to its existing Skoda franchise in Mansfield and the former Bickerton Skoda dealership in Sheffield that it acquired in 2010.

Since then, the business has enjoyed success, with this month’s Skoda retailer of the year accolade following Sheffield’s success in 2019.

Atherton told AM that among its operational improvements have been a tripling of its rental fleet from 30 to 90 cars in three years.

And the business does not fear the Volkswagen Group’s shift to an agency model, which is now expected to be implemented on all electric vehicle (EV) sales in 2024.

“Agency doesn’t worry us at all”, Atherton asserted. “With the list price of new cars now regularly around £50,000 to £60,000 it actually makes sense to a business like our from a cashflow point of view.

“It’s very easy to focus on the negatives, but we think it could be a good thing.”

In AM’s earlier dealer profile with Rainworth, the two directors said that Skoda UK’s shift to an agency model or its fleet sales had trimmed £10 million from the turnover of the group.

Skoda Retailer of the Year awards

Retailers from the Skoda car retail network received awards across nine categories, including Customer Experience, Finance and Digital Experience, at last Friday’s awards event at London’s Park Plaza Westminster Bridge hotel.

Rainworth Mansfield pipped DM Keith’s Škoda Grimsby and Simpsons Škoda Great Yarmouth to the overall retailer of the year title in a race that Atherton described as “extremely tight”.

Among the other winners on the night – hosted by British Olympian and BBC Ski Sunday presenter Chemmy Alcott – were West End Garage Škoda (Edinburgh) who won the Digital Experience and Customer Experience awards and DM Keith Škoda (Grimsby), who were named as victors in the People Excellence and Sales Scorecard categories.

Johnson Škoda (Burntwood) also secured a brace of awards, topping the Used Vehicle Sales and Škoda Finance categories.

Škoda UK head of sales operations, Kevin Rendall Skoda’s head of network sales Kevin Rendell said: “We pride ourselves on customer service at Škoda and every year our retailer network goes above and beyond to deliver the best for our customers.

“In another year that has seen the industry face a number of challenges, our retailers have gone the extra mile to deliver great service to owners, both new and existing.”

The full list of Skoda UK Retailer of the

Retailer of the Year rankings: