22nd Feb 2006 07:00
Inchcape PLC22 February 2006 22 February 2006 ACQUISITION OF KEYSTAR MOTORS Inchcape expands Australian Retail presence with entry into new Brisbane market Inchcape plc ('Inchcape' or the 'Group'), the international automotive retailgroup, today announces the acquisition of Keystar Motors Pty Ltd ('Keystar') insouth east Queensland, Australia. Keystar represents Subaru, Hyundai, Kia and Mitsubishi in the Brisbane area,across two multi-franchise retail centres. Together these businesses generatedc. £32.0m of revenue for the year ended 30 June 2005. Whilst Inchcape already has an established retail presence in Melbourne andSydney, the acquisition of Keystar marks the Group's first entry into Brisbane;a market currently experiencing strong levels of growth. The acquisition further strengthens Inchcape's partnership with Subaru, andbuilds on the Group's relationship with Hyundai and Kia. The total cash consideration paid for the business will be c. £8.8m, subject tofinalisation of completion accounts. Andre Lacroix, Group Chief Executive of Inchcape, commented: "Australia is an important market to Inchcape, and we already have scale Retailbusinesses in Melbourne and Sydney. We are therefore delighted to establish aRetail presence in a third market - Brisbane. This is an important high growthmarket and the acquisition provides us with a platform from which to develop alarger business in that region over time." Notes to editors For further information, please contact: Group Communications, Inchcape plc020 7546 0022 Hogarth Partnership Limited (John Olsen/Barnaby Fry)020 7357 9477 Inchcape is a scale automotive retail group operating in Australia, Belgium,Greece, Hong Kong, Singapore and the UK. The Group also has operations in anumber of other global markets. In addition to expanding our core businesses, weare looking to develop scale operations in new and emerging regions. Werepresent leading automotive brands and operate either a pure retail, or avertically integrated retail model (i.e. distribution and retail), depending onthe market. Our key manufacturer partners are Toyota/Lexus, Subaru, BMW, thePremier Automotive Group of Ford, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen. For further information, visit us at www.inchcape.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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