Pendragon PLC From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Pendragon PLC is a multi-national operator of franchised motor dealers in the United Kingdom with international outlets in the United States. The Pendragon Group focuses on a variety of luxury cars and Motorcycles marketed under the Stratstone name which include Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lotus, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Morgan, Porsche, Smart and Triumph. Other brands are marketed as Evans Halshaw which is the largest volume car retailer in the UK. This brand includes Vauxhall, Ford, Citroen, Peugeot, Renault, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Chevrolet, Dacia and SEAT. The companys registered office is at Annesley, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. The company is listed on the FTSE 250 index and once had Sir Nigel Rudd as company Chair. History Pendragon became a public limited company when the vehicle division of Williams PLC was de-merged in 1989, operating 19 car dealerships, representing specialist and luxury franchises, as well as a small contract hire business. In 1990, the companys portfolio to incorporate volume car franchises, such as Ford and Vauxhall. Following this, Pendragon began a series of high-profile acquisitions. The Stratstone brand was acquired in 1992, establishing a relationship for Pendragon with Jaguar and Land Rover. In 1997, an acquisition of Lex Service PLC and their 17 volume car dealerships took place. In August 1998, Pinewood computers was acquired by Pendragon, expanding the companys portfolio into the specialist areas of dealer management systems, telecommunications and remote security monitoring systems for the retail motor industry. Pendragon went on to acquire the whole shared capital of Evans Halshaw in February 1999, making Pendragon the largest motor dealer group in the UK. After this a further 32 franchised dealerships were bought from Lex Service PLC in March 2000. In July 2000, Pendragon expanded into America with their acquisition of Bauer Jaguar, the third largest Jaguar dealership in America. Throughout the remainder of 2000-2001, various other California-based dealerships were acquired including Hornburg, South Coast Jaguar and Land Rover. Pendragon PLC bought Reg Vardy PLC in 2006, taking on a total of 96 new dealerships. Shortly after this, the automotive industry was hit by a recession, in which Pendragons share price reduced to 1.08p on 19 December 2008. This led to the closure of dealerships and job cuts in both the United Kingdom and America. Since this point, Pendragon have seen a steady growth in value through improved company performance and a more prosperous economy. The company reported a first half 2013 profit of £23.6 million, up 24% over last year. Their debt so far has been reduced to £150 million, achieved through a successful refinancing of the company. Group companies Evans Halshaw Quicks Stratstone Chatfields Pendragon Contracts Quickco Pinewood Technologies External links Official site Companies House Company Number 02304195 Stratstone Evans Halshaw Quicks Chatfields
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 12:16:39 +0000