Porsche Retail Group has agreed to buy two Official Porsche Centres (OPCs) – OPC East London and OPC South London – from the American car giant Lithia UK subject to regulatory approvals. This increases the group’s representation in the Greater London metropolitan area from five to seven Porsche Centres.

I have heard some up and down feedback for both OPCs over the years, so I wonder how new ownership will change things – there may be a different feeling working for Stuttgart or Porsche Cars GB versus its franchisees, especially when ownership has recently changed. It feels like good news for those working at both OPCs.

Lithia caused a stir in 2023 when it bought Jardine Motors Group for an estimated £3-400m ($383-510m). In January 2024, it also bought the Pendragon group – another huge dealer network – paying around £379m ($484m) for the business. In September, Lithia UK announced a profit drop of over 50% in the year to December 2023 against much higher turnover, up from £1.64bn in 2022 to £1.89bn in 2023.

Car Dealer magazine niotes that, when Jardine was sold, it had around 50 UK dealerships representing prestige brands including Aston Martin, Ferrari, Maserati, McLaren and Porsche. Floated on the New York Stock Exchange, Lithia was at the time valued at “more than $6bn and was America’s second largest automotive retailer, with more than 250 locations“.

A bid of c.29p a share to buy Pendragon in August 2022 was rejected by the major shareholder (Hedin Group) but a higher offer in the face of falling profits and minus Pendragon’s software business later got the deal across the line. The purchase was said to been the finale of a four-horse battle against a joint bid from Hedin Group and Penske Automotive, and an offer from America’s biggest dealer group, AutoNation.

Porsche Retail Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Porsche Cars Great Britain Limited, which is owned outright by Porsche. The company already has five sites around London and its extended hinterland, and adding these two gives it virtual command of London for new and used sales, servicing and genuine parts.

News from the grapevine says that Porsche is increasingly careful about who it supplies genuine parts to these days and continues to tighten its grip on its exceptional brand. Some of the things I have heard have raised eyebrows and it paints a picture of much closer approval from Stuttgart on external use and exploitation of the Porsche brand.

London’s Unique Appeal to Prestige Brands

London is often described (even on the BBC) as “a first rate city attached to a third world country.” Those of us who moved out of London tend to laugh this off, as it speaks to certain delusions of grandeur down south, but there is no doubt that London is different to the rest of the country. I spent a weekend in London last month – partly retracing my arrival there and finding my feet in the city – and noticed how much I had missed it. It is a true global city powered by aspiration and no surprise that Porsche wants more of it.

“We’re excited about the opportunity to grow our network and continue delivering exceptional service to our customers,” said Adam Flint, Managing Director of Porsche Retail Group. “We look forward to welcoming our new colleagues to the Porsche Retail Group family.” 

Porsche says that it will apply a new structure so that “all Centres in the Porsche Retail Group will work together making use of new retail formats to elevate the Porsche customer experience, as well as provide a more personalised customer journey. The goal is to create world class retail destinations enhanced by an innovative ecosystem which seamlessly integrates physical and digital touchpoints, to ensure an overall experience for every customer synonymous with the Porsche brand.“

“London is an exciting global megacity, and we look forward to further developing the Porsche brand representation and customer experience in this important market. At the same time, we look forward to a continued strong partnership between Porsche and Lithia across the UK including the evaluation of a future growth opportunity in line with our strategic network representation plan,” said Krishan Bodhani, CEO of Porsche Cars Great Britain.

Other targets within orbit of London could include Porsche Cambridge and Porsche Colchester – both owned by Lithia.

Photos from Unsplash