APRIL 2010 - LAW FIRM DRIVES MULTIPLE ACQUISITIONS FOR MIDLANDS CAR DEALERSHIP
Birmingham based law firm, The Wilkes Partnership, has completed two acquisitions on behalf of Johnsons – one of the UK’s largest independent car dealerships.
Five new dealerships were purchased from the Motorworld group of dealerships, owned by The Midcounties Co-operative Limited. Based in Oxford and Swindon, they introduce one Mitsubishi, two Mazda and two further Volvo dealerships to Johnsons, improving its reach in the south of the country and extending its portfolio to 23 dealerships nationwide.
Gareth O’Hara, partner in the corporate team at The Wilkes Partnership, led the legal team on behalf of the Redditch-based business.
The acquisitions represent a particular success due the complexities of the deal, which included the sale of five other automotive dealerships in the Motorworld group. Although these were not being purchased by Johnsons, it was a condition of the sale that all seven dealerships, involving ten franchises, were sold and completed at the same time, as Gareth O’Hara explains:
“Our client was committed to the Oxford and Swindon dealerships and other parties introduced by Johnsons were interested in purchasing the additional five sites which had other franchises, but all deals had to go through at the same time which made the legal process more complicated than a typical acquisition. It called on close working between all four of the legal teams involved and patience on behalf of all the purchasers, but the outcome has been a huge success.
“The completion of these deals is an important boost to Johnsons’ already successful business and helps our client with their strategy going forward.
“The automotive sector has always been important to the economy of the West Midlands region and, despite the tough times of late, it’s good to see that deals such as these are still happening.”
The legal work carried out by Mr. O’Hara and the corporate team at Wilkes involved advising on all legislative issues; negotiating the terms of sale and disposal; extensive property issues, and agreeing the funding arrangements for Johnsons.
Mike Berwick, operations director of Johnsons said: “We’re delighted to have added the two new dealerships to our portfolio and would like to thank Gareth and the team at the Wilkes Partnership for their help. We’re very pleased that the deal is complete and hope to continue to grow Johnsons further in the future.”
Johnsons was formed in 1999 and holds franchises for Honda, Lexus, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.
