11th May 2006 07:01
Lookers PLC11 May 2006 11 May 2006 LOOKERS plc AGM STATEMENT At today's Annual General Meeting of Lookers plc, Fred Maguire, Chairman, willmake the following statement: "I am pleased to report that your Company continues to make excellent progressand is very well positioned to continue to build shareholder value. Our successreflects the continued implementation of our stated strategy to develop our usedcar and aftersales revenues as well as further developing our mix of volume andprestige brands with our manufacturer partners. We have an excellent managementteam in place to implement this strategy supported by the hard work andcommitment of a dedicated team across the business. As a result, we deliveredoutstanding trading in the important first quarter with revenues up 17% to £385million and adjusted * operating profit up 71% to £13.2 million. The last six months have been eventful for your company. On 17 January 2006 wemade a recommended £492 million offer for Reg Vardy on terms that we felt werein shareholder interests. After careful consideration, your Board took the viewthat it was not in shareholder interests to pursue this opportunity at a higherprice. In January 2006 Pendragon announced that it had made an indicative offer for theCompany. Despite your Board's readiness to discuss any improvement in the termsof this proposal, Pendragon and its advisors expressed no willingness to improveupon those terms. Subsequently, on 9 March 2006 Pendragon announced itsintention to make a hostile offer for Lookers. Your Board recommendedshareholders not to accept this offer, which it considered significantlyundervalued the Company and was not in shareholders' best interests. On 27April 2006, Pendragon announced that only 21% of shareholders had acceptedPendragon's offer and that, therefore, it had lapsed. I would like to take thisopportunity to thank shareholders for their support and my colleagues for theircommitment during this period of uncertainty. On 25 April 2006 we announced that Tony Bramall had bought a 24.2% shareholdingin the Company from GE Corporation. We are delighted that one of the mostrespected and successful operators in the UK motor retail industry has chosen tomake this investment in Lookers' exciting growth prospects and we look forwardto his contribution to our future development. He will be invited to join theBoard as a non-Executive Director in the near future. I have now been with the Company for twenty years, the last six years asChairman. During that period the industry and Lookers have developed out of allrecognition. It has been a pleasure to Chair the Company during this period whenit has experienced its best ever growth performance in all respects over asustained period. In particular, we have a highly experienced and respectedmanagement team in place to take the Company forward and are exceptionally wellplaced to continue our development in this dynamic environment. Consequently, Ihave decided it is an appropriate time for me to step down as Chairman and fromthe Board as soon as my successor has been appointed." * before amortisation of intangible assets, impairment of goodwill andexceptional items Enquiries: Lookers plc Telephone: 0161 291 0043 Ken Surgenor, Chief ExecutiveDavid Dyson, Finance Director Hudson Sandler Telephone: 020 7796 4133 Andrew Hayes/Nick Lyon/James Hill This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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