Lookers chief operating officer Duncan McPhee has said the AM100 PLC is ready to accelerate its growth through acquisitions and the creation of a Lookers Car Hub used car operation.

In an interview following today’s (April 5) publication of annual financial results revealing a 6.2% rise in turnover for 2022 and an upgrade to projected 2023 profits following a positive Q1, McPhee said he and the business were in an “extremely positive” place.

And he told AM that the car retail giant was “definitely” ready to acquire other businesses as part of a bid to drive growth.

He added: “Over the past few years we have been getting the business in in a solid place with a solid foundation, but we are definitely in a position now to become part of that trend of market consolidation in the sector.”

McPhee said that improvements had been leveraged across the Lookers business in 2022 and said business volumes were up 10% year-to-date in Q1 2023.

He once again highlighted the development of the group’s aftersales business – in particular its mobile cosmetic repair business – in 2022 and the addition of new OEM partners BYD, Great Wall Motors (GWM) Ora, Lotus, MG and XBus.

Lookers Car Hub

But McPhee also gave more detail of the group’s plan to develop a new used car “destination centre” as it aims to drive a standalone multi-brand used car retail division.

In a reshuffle of existing dealership premises in Middlesborough, Lookers will move its Ford franchise to make way for the Lookers Car Hub business, moving it into a neighbouring facility alongside its new BYD sales operation.

“Due to launch in Q4, it’s a really exciting development for us,” McPhee said. “It will be a multi-brand used car retail hub with service, repair and cosmetic repair, along with six 150kW EV rapid chargers and an EV experience centre where people can come and learn about zero-emissions vehicles.

“The used car sector is huge, with over seven million transactions a year, and we currently have just a 1% share of that market. This new venture represents a great vehicle for us to improve on that and grow another part of the business.”

AM asked McPhee whether he anticipated part of the car retail sector’s shift to agency model retail agreements would impact Lookers’ turnover growth in 2023.

Mercedes-Benz made the switch at the start of the year and Lookers has 15 dealerships with the premium German carmaker.

“The business is growing in all directions, so I probably wouldn’t expect to see an impact on overall revenues in terms of a year-on-year decline,” he said.

“We now have 34 brands in the portfolio, so there’s lots of opportunity.”