What's the news?
Johnson & Perrott Motor Group has announced it has acquired the entire share capital of National Truck Rental Ltd, subject to approval from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).
J&P, which has a turnover of €86 million in 2017 and which is centred in Dublin and Cork, is a motor retailer with activities in motor dealerships, leasing and fleet management, and light commercial vehicle hire. The deal for NTR Ltd ties in with this final area of J&P's business, as National is one of the leading companies in Ireland for the long- and short-term hire of commercial vehicles to business across the country.
Dublin-based National has a dedicated commercial vehicle repair centre at its headquarters in Ballycoolin and is heavily invested in refrigerated and other specialist vehicles. It turned over slightly less than €10m last year.
J&P's CEO, Mark Whitaker, said the group was "very excited" to have the opportunity to acquire an organisation with the products, skills and services which complement those already offered through various J&P divisions, adding: "The acquisition of National Truck Rental follows our recent disposal of properties at Opera Lane in Cork and is part of our long-term strategy to further invest in and develop a wide range of services to meet the needs of our customers into the next decade.
"Under the leadership of Jim Byrne, National Truck Rental has developed a reputation for excellent customer service and innovative truck solutions. We look forward to welcoming the highly skilled and experienced team at National Truck Rental to Johnson & Perrott and to further developing the reach of the business with the addition of technology already in use within our group.
"We see our future in 'transport as a service', which is why joining forces with Jim and the team at National Truck Rental makes such great sense - they are a company like us who are very people-oriented, both in their own team and the high level of service that they deliver to their customers."
The latest development for J&P comes on the back of the purchase of a 4.3-acre site on Bandon Road, on the outskirts of Cork city. The first building to open on the site in June 2018 will be a new showroom for the Jaguar Land Rover franchise. An application for planning permission for a new Volvo facility on the same site has recently been lodged and it will be Ireland's largest Volvo dealer, delivering both the Volvo Retail Experience and Volvo Personal Service.
Jim Byrne, managing director of National, said he was confident of the business' future under J&P's leadership. He said: "I am very grateful to all of the stakeholders who have helped us build the National Truck Rental business since the business was started in 1980. We are delighted to have found a new partner with very similar values to ours, who can bring increased capital funding and support to help National continue to grow and prosper into the future."
Anything else?
Subject to the CCPC ratifying J&P's acquisition of National, it is hoped that the transaction will be concluded in early June.