Lookers makes changes at the top after ‘challenging’ 2019
Car dealership chain Lookers today announced a raft of changes to its senior leadership, with Mark Raban and Cameron Wade announced as the firm’s chief executive and chief operating officer.
In November Andy Bruce and Nigel McMinn stepped down from Lookers’ board after the firm issued a profit warning.
Raban moves into the top job after less than a year as the company’s finance chief, while Cameron has spent four years as director of Lookers’ Audi division.
Lookers also released a fourth quarter trading update, which showed that the group’s sales of new vehicles declined by 6.6 per cent in the final period of the year.
Over a year in which UK new car registrations as a whole declined 2.4 per cent, falling to 2.3m units, Lookers said that it performed marginally ahead of the overall market.
In terms of used cars, the group said that its sales increased by 3.8 per cent over the final quarter. It added that profit across the business was broadly flat.
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Lookers also announced that it had completed a programme of closing 15 sites around the UK, four of which have been sold with proceeds of £8.3m.
An ongoing Financial Conduct Authority investigation into the firm’s sales process will continue, with an initial planning and fact-finding phase underway.
The company said that it would face uncertainty in 2020 from a combination of the UK’s departure from the EU and the continuing decline of the new car market.
Raban said: “2019 was a challenging year for Lookers. The declining new car market, political and economic uncertainty and increased operating costs were all factors in the Group’s decline in profitability.
“Over recent weeks the Board has instigated a number of clear and decisive actions to stabilise and improve operational and financial performance.”
Shares in Lookers rose 3.3 per cent this morning.