The new chief executive of AM100 car dealer Marshall Motor Group has been revealed to be Pendragon veteran Martin Casha.

Casha will leave Pendragon, where he is chief operating officer, in November this year to lead Marshall, which was acquired by Constellation Automotive in 2022 - a move which was accompanied by the exit of Marshall's high profile chief executive Daksh Gupta. 

In a statement today Pendragon revealed that Casha, who co-steered the one-time biggest UK motor retail alongside Trevor Finn after it was split off from Williams plc in 1989 with just 19 dealerships, will not be replaced and his reporting lines will be redistributed across Pendragon's senior leadership team.

Casha said: "I have been very fortunate to have enjoyed a fantastic career at Pendragon. It has been a privilege to be part of a first-class organisation and I would like to thank the team that I have had the pleasure of working with. I wish them every success for the future."

A new chairman of the board is on the cards for Pendragon, which announced last month that non-executive chairman Ian Filby would be leaving. 

At its peak, led by Finn and Casha, Pendragon had more than 300 franchised dealerships, including sites in Germany and America, and turnover exceeding £5 billion which kept it in the top spot of the AM100.

Its major acquisitions included Quicks, CD Bramall and Reg Vardy and it once also made a play for major rival Lookers, which was thwarted by Tony Bramall.

Bill Berman, Pendragon's second chief executive since Finn's departure in 2019, said: "On behalf of the board and all our associates, I would like to thank Martin for his contribution to Pendragon.

"He has been instrumental to the growth of the business and more recently, he has played an important role in implementing our strategy to transform automotive retail through digital innovation and operational excellence. We wish him all the best for his future endeavours."