Fred Maguire, chairman of Lookers, is to retire as soon as a successor is appointed.

His announcement at the group’s annual general meeting last week prompted speculation that major shareholder Tony Bramall could become his replacement. However Bramall already runs his own dealer group, Bramall & Jones, which has six Audi and Volkswagen outlets.

Lookers says Bramall will be invited to join the board as a non-executive director. Maguire has been with the dealer group for 20 years. He initially served as deputy chairman, then became chief executive in 1997 and chairman in 2001. He was inducted into the AM Hall of Fame last year.