The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Grassicks car dealerships soldtomajor motorgroup
Firm has been trading in Perth since 1922 and ran BMW and Mini outlets
One of Perth’s longest established car dealership, Grassicks, has been sold to major Edinburgh-based motor group Eastern Western.
The deal to acquire the Motor Milebased BMW and Mini dealerships was concluded this week and directors from Eastern Western travelled to Perth today to acquaint themselves with their purchase and meet the Grassicks staff.
The business has been privately held by the Grassick family for decades.
It began trading in 1922 and has held the BMW franchise since the 1970s.
Companies House records show engineering manager David Grassick held more than 25% but less than 50% of the shares in Grassick’s Garage Limited, while managing director Colin Grassick held the majority shareholding.
The purchase price paid by Eastern Western for the business, which generated revenues of more than £31.2 million last year and booked a profit of £190,295 for the year, has not been disclosed.
Colin Grassick has agreed to take on a brand ambassador role with the new owners and all of Grassicks’ staff have also transferred over.
“I look forward to this move protecting the longevity of Grassick’s values in an ever increasingly competitive market,” Mr Grassick said.
“I would like to thank my loyal staff, who will continue to look after our customers to the high level of customer care we have always strived for. “I wish the new owners every success.” Eastern Western represents 12 motoring brands, has extensive operations at Halbeath in Fife and runs a commercial vehicle dealership in Dundee. It already has BMW and Mini outlets in Edinburgh.
In the year to December 31, Eastern Western parent group Eastern Holdings booked sales of almost £550m and a profit for the year of £7.48m.
“We are delighted to have acquired Grassick’s Garage Ltd from Colin Grassick, as it is a business that has a fantastic reputation for customer satisfaction,” Eastern Western Group managing director Douglas Brown said.
“We look forward to welcoming all of Grassick’s 60 colleagues in the group and further developing the Grassicks brand and business in the future.
“We are also delighted Colin Grassick will remain as a brand ambassador and will help us nurture existing relationships within this territory.”
David Kendrick, head of chartered accountant UHY Hacker Young’s automotive team, said he had advised the shareholders of Grassicks on the sale.
He said: “With increasing pressures on volumes it is becoming harder and harder for the single site operators within the premium brands to compete.
“The Grassicks business has been a fantastic partner for BMW since 1971, however with no succession in the business, the obvious choice for the shareholders was to dispose of the dealerships to another larger operator.”