The Times - UK (2022-04-28)

the times | Thursday April 28 2022 2GM 43

Business

British motor dealers have never had it
so good, if the latest figures of Pendrag-
on, one of the biggest showroom groups
in the country, are a guide.
Pendragon, the company behind the
Stratstone and Evans Halshaw dealer-
ships, reported a 73 per cent leap in pre-
tax profits in the first quarter of the
year, to £18.7 million. That follows
profits of £83 million in 2021, a record
high for the group.
There is a significant supply/demand
mismatch in the industry as manufac-
turers struggle to source computer
chips and face rising energy and raw
materials costs. They have switched
production to their most profitable
lines, such as high-end models and
electric vehicles. Large parts of the

Demand

drives up

Pendragon

Robert Lea Industrial Editor

market are tied into three-year financ-

ing plans, which means that if they do

not trade in for a new car they must pay

off the debt on their existing vehicle.

While the motor trade has historical-

ly worked on thin margins from large

volumes, Pendragon’s latest figures

appear to indicate that it is making the

most of the current crisis, marking up

sales margins on new cars by an aver-

age 65 per cent over the last year to an

average of £2,456 per car. Its margins on

second-hand cars are 61 per cent higher

than a year ago, at £1,767.

The company is also profiting in its

service garage division, with revenues

there up 5 per cent and profit margins

running at 52 per cent, compared with

50 per cent a year ago.

Pendragon took £64 million in staff

furlough payments and business-rate

holidays and, along with much of the

rest of the trade — unlike most other

big retail groups — has refused to pay

the money back to the Treasury.

The taxpayer assistance and its

decision to lay off 1,800 staff helped

Pendragon to quicken its move online

to compete with new high-profile new

players in the market such as Cazoo

and Cinch.

Mary Ng is Canada’s minister of

international trade, export promotion,

small business and economic

development

W

hen Justin Trudeau

and Boris Johnson

met in London

earlier this year,

they committed to

continue strengthening the

Canada-UK relationship by

working together on economic

resilience, supporting critical

supply chains and encouraging a

shared economic recovery from the

pandemic.

For Canada, the UK is not just a

critical ally, but also one of our

longest standing friends. We share

close people-to-people ties as well as

shared values and strong economic

links. The UK was Canada’s

third-largest trading partner in 2021,

with £24.5 billion in goods and

services flowing between our two

countries.

It has never been more important

for countries like Canada and the

UK to work together to strengthen

the rules-based trading system and

protect our people and our

businesses.

The world is facing new,

big-picture challenges that will set

the course of international trade for

years to come. As well as the

obstacles of tomorrow, we are

already seeing the challenges of

today test the boundaries of our

trading system.

Canada and the UK have been

united in our steadfast

condemnation of Russia’s illegal

invasion of Ukraine and clear that

we stand for a free and democratic

Ukraine. We see the effects of this

war — rising gas prices, disrupted

supply chains and of course the

horrific toll that it has taken on the

millions of Ukrainians, both

throughout Europe and here in

Canada.

That is why a trade agreement

between our two countries is so

critical at this moment: as Canada’s

minister of international trade,

export promotion, small business

and economic development, it’s my

job to create opportunities for our

businesses, with our allies, to build

economic resilience in the wake of

the Covid-19 pandemic.

On March 24, one month to the

day after Russia’s invasion, I

welcomed Anne-Marie Trevelyan,

the UK international trade

secretary, to Canada to announce

that we and the United Kingdom

will be launching negotiations

towards a free trade agreement.

We are going to work towards an

ambitious, progressive and

comprehensive free trade

agreement that best reflects

Canada’s and the United Kingdom’s

shared values.

We are going to set a new

benchmark agreement that will

raise the bar for traditionally

underrepresented groups such as

women, minority ethnic and

Indigenous peoples, as well as small

and medium-sized enterprises,

making it easier for them feel the

full benefits of trade.

It is an agreement that advances

high standards for the environment

and labour, and one that helps our

businesses thrive into the future by

benefitting from digital trade.

This new free-trade deal will help

to make it easier for companies in

both countries to export the

innovative products and services

that will keep our economies on the

cutting edge and address the many

challenges we face, including

climate change, creating the

conditions to attract investment —

in both directions — to build the

green economy of the future.

Canada sees free trade with the

UK as an incredible opportunity to

support our businesses to scale-up

and go global and create resilience

in supply chains with partners who

champion rules-based trade.

With negotiations currently

underway, Canada and the UK will

set the stage for a next generation

free-trade agreement.

Free-trade deal between

Canada and Britain will

set a new benchmark

Mary Ng

TED BAKER

T

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Enterprise

Network

Long-distance

courtship

A luxury villa rental

company bought its

Greek rival after the

execs got to know

each other over Zoom.

Wielding

influence

Zoe Ogilvie,

left, on

working with

influencers —

from where to

find them to how

much to invest.

se

Wi

in

Z

le

w

iinf

from

find them

bankers at Evercore and Blackdown
Partners were inviting a “focused
selection” of parties to enter the due
diligence stage, provided that they
sign non-disclosure agreements.
It is understood that Sycamore
Partners, the private equity firm
that initially approached Ted Baker,
is in the running. It has made two
offers, the last at 137½p a share,
which would have valued the
business at £254 million.
Ted Baker said that it had
consulted its biggest shareholders,
including Ray Kelvin, its founder,
and Toscafund, on the process.
Toscafund has continued to buy

shares, most recently purchasing

250,000 at 148p on Monday, and

now has a 28.47 per cent stake in

the business.

Shares in Ted Baker rose by 3p, or

2 per cent, to close yesterday at

150p, valuing the business at

£276.9 million. Before takeover

interest was leaked Ted Baker had

been trading at less than 90p.

Sycamore Partners, which

reportedly has support from Kelvin,

faces competition from Authentic

Brands Group, the US business that

recently purchased Reebok.

Industry sources said that while

Ted Baker’s board had initially

rejected opportunistic takeover

proposals, a rehabilitation of the

company would be easier in the

private market.

Ted Baker has struggled after a

major accounting error led to a

string of profit warnings. It also

faced a drop in demand for smart

clothes during lockdowns.

However, last month the retailer

reported sales had risen by more

than a third, which it hailed as

green shoots of a recovery.

Ted Baker said that it had received

a number of offers and was inviting

suitors to enter the due diligence stage

Joint bid aims

to land Boots

India’s largest listed company and a US

buyout firm are planning a joint bid for

Boots, after the pharmacy chain was

put up for sale (Robert Miller writes).

Reliance Industries and Apollo Glob-

al Management want to see Boots ex-

pand its presence into India, southeast

Asia and the Middle East, according to

the Financial Times. Apollo confirmed

the plan yesterday.

Both Reliance and Apollo would own

stakes in Boots, although it is not clear

whether the stakes would be of equal

size. Reliance was not immediately

available for comment, while Boots

declined to comment.

Walgreens Boots Alliance put Boots

up for sale after announcing a strategic

review in January as it renews its focus

on US healthcare.

The owners of Asda, brothers

Mohsin and Zuber Issa, and TDR Capi-

tal, the private equity group, have also

made an initial bid for Boots, which is

valued at £5 billion to £6 billion.