Lookers has acquired £3.8 million turnover fleet and leasing business Fourways Vehicle Solutions to grow its customer base in the corporate sector.

The AM100 PLC announced the acquisition of the business, based in Whitchurch, Shropshire, via the London Stock Exchange this morning (March 6).

Founded in 2003, Fourways provides a UK-wide vehicle rental service, using a combination of its own fleet of vehicles and its vehicle rental broking arm and has access to over 75,000 vehicles from some of the UK's major rental companies.

According to today’s announcement, Fourways manages in excess of 7,000 rentals per annum and in 2022 had total revenue of £3.8m.

Mark Raban, Lookers chief executive and the current AM Awards Business Leader of the Year, said: “We are very excited to welcome Fourways to Lookers. Over the last 20 years, the team have built a reputation for providing industry-leading service to many high-profile customers seeking corporate vehicle solutions.

“With the consolidation of our own leasing business now complete, we are excited to add further scale to the division.”

Lookers said that its Fourways acquisition fitted with its strategic priority to leverage its corporate leasing and fleet capabilities.

Fourways will sit within Lookers Vehicle Solutions, the umbrella brand for all corporate operations, with “significant growth potential”, it said, stating: “We recently completed our consolidation of operations within Lookers Vehicle Solutions and have a good platform to continue building this part of the Group.”

Raban added: “Fourways is another step on our journey to grow our leasing and fleet platform, building and improving our offering for an increasing customer base.”

Last week Lookers chief operating officer Duncan McPhee told AM how the car retail business had boosted its mobile cosmetic repair business in a bid to diversify and grow.

The business currently has 20 vans and 26 fixed sites to deliver the service and plans to scale the operation with the addition of 10 more vans and 20 additional fixed sites in 2023.

McPhee told AM: “Scaling the business will undoubtedly cost a few million quid, but the payback is pretty short, and the margin achieved to be better than the type of margin generated by the typical body shop.”