The U.K.-based dealer group that had planned to develop the South Coast Motorcars model created by Jaguar Cars of North America,only to see it stalled by a Ford reorganization,has purchased rival dealership Bauer Jaguar in Santa Ana for $9.4 million.
Derbyshire, England-based Pendragon PLC is the U.K.’s largest dealer group, with franchises selling Fiats, Jaguars, Volvos, Aston Martins and Mazdas. It acquired Bauer Jaguar in Santa Ana from Richard Bauer Jr. in mid-July. Bauer, whose father founded the dealership nearly 30 years ago, subsequently retired, company officials said.
“We will be working with the dealership’s local management who have built the business and will continue to manage it while benefiting from Pendragon’s international expertise,” said Pendragon CEO Trevor Finn in a statement for a UK-based news service.
There are no plans to change the name of the dealership, its general manager said.
The deal comes about seven months after Pendragon was named as the intended operator of the planned South Coast Motorcars Jaguar and Aston Martin dealership. South Coast Motorcars is a concept that Jaguar Cars began developing three years ago to showcase Jaguar and Aston Martin cars. The plan, which was backed by an expensive pre-development marketing campaign, was to build a main store in Mission Viejo and a satellite location in Newport Beach. Jaguar parent Ford Motor Co. had purchased a 2.7-acre property in Mission Viejo for the project.
Ironically, Bauer Jaguar had protested the proposed Newport Beach satellite to the state New Motor Vehicle Board on the grounds that it would cut into Bauer’s customer base, but the protest was dropped earlier this year after Jaguar called off the plan for a second store.
Meanwhile, the Premier Automotive Group division of Ford Motor Co., which operates Jaguar, Aston Martin, Lincoln, Volvo and Land Rover, is consolidating its brands into facilities in Irvine and has begun talking with dealers about a new concept that might bring all of Ford’s luxury brands under a single roof, perhaps at the Mission Viejo site, perhaps elsewhere. The South Coast Motorcars plan is in limbo, pending a decision by Premier Group officials on what to do with the Mission Viejo acreage.
“The project for South Coast Motorcars is still on hold and a decision on progressing the project further is currently being discussed with decision expected late September,” Russell Smith, a senior executive with Pendragon, said in an e-mail message from England.
If Ford decides to do something else at the Mission Viejo site, Pendragon still will have the right to build a Jaguar and Aston Martin dealership in the South Orange County area.
Meanwhile, Bauer, which is Jaguar’s third-largest car dealership in the U.S., is the first U.S. acquisition for Pendragon. The company, which is also Jaguar’s largest partner in the U.K. and Germany, began looking for U.S. deals about a year ago and intends to buy more under the direction of Smith, who is in the process of moving to the U.S.
Scotty McBean, general manager under Bauer, continues to head up operations at the dealership, under the title dealer principal.
The dealership is OC’s only one to sell Jaguar cars. According to McBean, the dealership’s sales are up about 20% over 1999, when Bauer sold about 700 new cars and 280 used cars with sales of about $70 million.
According to documents filed in connection with the sale of the dealership, Bauer earned $2.3 million on sales of $72.6 million for the 12 months ended April 30. n
