Chester T. Dean 
Lookers has completed the sale and leaseback of its freehold Volkswagen car dealership property in Battersea for £28million.
Car retail group AM100’s £10million showroom in York Road, Battersea has opened in partnership with Linden Homes’ £100million mixed-use commercial and residential development in January 2019.
The group has now completed the sale and leaseback of the property to Urban Logistics, a London Stock Exchange-listed REIT.
A statement released by Lookers says the sale proceeds are £28m in cash and Lookers has a 20-year lease for the property at an initial rent of £1.25m per year.
Lookers managing director Mark Raban, who was recently interviewed for a Lookers profile feature in AM, said: “We are pleased to have agreed to the selective sale and leaseback of our Battersea property.
“The transaction demonstrates the value of the group’s property portfolio, supporting our strong balance sheet.
“The product gives us additional flexibility to achieve our aspiration to become the UK’s leading integrated automotive retail and service group.”
The former freehold property of Lookers in Battersea comprises 95,000 square feet and had a net book value of £10.3 million as of December 31, 2021.
Under IFRS 16, right-of-use assets and associated lease liabilities worth approximately £19 million will be reflected on the group’s balance sheet, Lookers’ statement said.
“The proceeds will be used to invest in the group’s strategic priorities and will further strengthen the group’s balance sheet,” he added.
“The Group now holds property assets with a net book value of approximately £290 million, or 74 pence per share.”
During his two years at the helm, Raban guided Lookers through a cost-cutting restructuring that reduced a total of 27 retail sites and a large workforce at the AM100 car retail group as part of of a successful bid to cement a return to profitability.
A trading update released via the London Stock Exchange in January revealed the group is expected to deliver record pre-tax underlying profit “ahead of the previous market consensus of £82m for 2021” days before Constellation Automotive followed its decision to acquire Marshall Motor Group with the purchase of a 19.9% stake in Lookers.
The group is now about to start a new era at a redeveloped headquarters, Lookers House, in Altrincham, Greater Manchester.
Raban said Lookers was now set to “try something different” after a history of growth through acquisition.
A new strategic framework will aim to “maximize revenue and profit opportunities” through changing consumer behavior, the impact of electric vehicles (EVs), developing relationships with OEMs and changing technology, according to the January business update.
The ultimate goal, Raban said at the time, is to realize the “ambition and aspiration of becoming the UK’s leading integrated automotive retail and service group”.
