Lookers Smart wins Retailer of the Year
(PRWEB UK) 21 February 2017 -- The event, held on Thursday 9 February, was attended by Mercedes-Benz UK CEO, Gary Savage, Marcus Breitschwerdt, Head of Mercedes-Benz cars Europe and Andy Bruce, CEO of Lookers plc.
Lookers were nominated for four of the five awards on the evening and they were awarded with the coveted Smart Retailer of the Year Award against fierce competition.
The trophy was collected by Andy Bruce, Lookers CEO and David Currin, Smart Divisional Sales Director. Commenting on the award, Andy said, “Winning the Smart retailer of the year award 2017 is testament to the focus and investment that we have put into Lookers Mercedes-Benz Brighton and the ‘stand-alone’ Smart retail format, the only one of its kind in the UK. The confidence that we have shown in the brand and the great partnership we have with the team at Smart and Mercedes-Benz has culminated in this amazing accolade. It is also great recognition for the time and effort that the Lookers Smart team have invested into the business.”
David Williams, Lookers Franchise Director for Mercedes-Benz said, “I’m personally so impressed by the fun and enthusiasm of the team at smart. The Lookers team represent the Smart brand in a professional and customer-friendly way, making buying and owning a Smart as enjoyable as driving one.”
The award from Smart came on the same day that Lookers received Top Employers Certification, the only UK motor retailer to be recognised by the Top Employers Institute with the top honour.
Andy Bruce was also awarded ‘Business Leader of the Year’ at a major UK industry awards event. The Automotive Management Magazine Awards 2017, staged at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, is widely regarded as one of the most important nights in the industry calendar and was attended by motoring experts and professionals from across the UK.
Under Andy Bruce’s leadership, Lookers is also recognised as the Motor Trader Dealer Group of the Year, while Andy was named CEO of the Year at the same prestigious event in 2016.
Nigel McMinn, Lookers Chief Operations Officer, said “Receiving the hat-trick of prestigious awards in one evening is recognition that the Lookers modern retailer experience is really making a difference to our customers experience and strategic partner relationships. We hope these relationships will continue to grow throughout the coming year as we deliver over 200,000 vehicles to our highly valued customers.”
CONTACTS:
For more information, imagery or interview requests, please contact Lookers:
Ian Dinning - iandinning(at)lookers(dot)co(otd)uk - 07917803970
NOTES TO EDITOR; LOOKERS:
• Andy Bruce, Lookers CEO, won ‘CEO of the Year’ at the prestigious Motor Trader of the Year 2016 and AM - Business Leader of the Year Award
• Lookers won ‘Dealer Group of the Year Award’ at Motor Trader of the Year 2016, this followed the 2015 win by Benfield Motor Group that won in 2015
• Lookers has been awarded the exclusive Top Employers United Kingdom 2017 Certification, please visit: http://www.top-employers.com and see how Lookers was awarded the Top Employers Certification
• Lookers group annual turnover in 2015 was £3.6bn
• Lookers sold almost 180,000 new and used cars and vans
• The motor division consists of 153 franchised dealerships
• 31 marques are represented and support by Lookers
• Lookers employ almost 8,500 people across the group
• Lookers Executive Directors include Andy Bruce (Chief Executive Officer), Robin Gregson (Chief Financial Officer), Nigel McMinn (Chief Operations Officer)
• The combined turnover of the Motor Trader Top 200 was £56.4bn, an increase of £4bn over the previous year.
Interim results H1 2016, ended 30 June 2016:
• Full results are available at http://www.lookersplc.com/investors
• Revenue increased 33% to £2.34 billion (2015: £1.75 billion\)
• Profit before tax increased by 17% to £46.7 million (2015: £39.9 million)
• Earnings per share up 17% at 9.44p (2015: 8.08p)
• Increase in interim dividend of 20% to 1.28p per share (2015: 1.07p)
• Net debt significantly reduced to £74.9 million (31 December 2015: £161.7 million)
Operation and post-period end:
• Proposed disposal of Parts Division for £120m announced 10 August – completed by the end of October 2016
• Conditional agreement to acquire Drayton Group for £55.4m announced on 15th August –expected to be earnings enhancing for the year ending 31 December 2017
Image caption:
• Dermot O’Leary and ‘All Black’ rugby legend Sean Fitzpatrick were joined on stage by Gary Savage Mercedes-Benz UK CEO, Marcus Breitschwerdt, Head of Mercedes-Benz cars Europe and Andy Bruce, CEO of Lookers plc. They Sukh Khatkar, Divisional Finance Controller, Lorraine Ali, Divisional Business Development Centre Manager, Nigel Barber, Divisional Corporate Sales Director and Graeme Dengate, Divisional Regional Sales Manager.
Ian Dinning, Lookers plc, http://www.lookers.co.uk, +44 7917803970, [email protected]
Share this article