Climbing the AM100 is a result of the strategic successes of DM Keith

DM Keith’s humble beginnings belie the fact that the controlled increase in scale this dealer group has achieved is nothing short of miraculous.

Headed by managing director Dougal Keith and his brother Angus, the Škoda retailer has steadily expanded over the past decade through very selective acquisitions and new brand relationships to now represent Seat, Honda, Ford, Kia and new Chinese entrants such as BYD.

With its owners’ strong control of the financials, the business has been prudent yet progressive. Thanks to the support of its 'Team Tartan' workforce, the Keith brothers look set to go further still.

It has managed to grow and gain the benefits of scale, but without losing the family-driven values that form its foundations. It is this which helped secure DM Keith the Strategic Success Award in association with UHY Hacker Young at the 2024 AM Awards.

DM Keith is very much a family operation with more than half a century of history. The Yorkshire-focused dealer group bought car and motorcycle dealer group Colin Appleyard earlier this year following on from its acquisition of Ringways in 2021.

In the latest AM100 listings DM Keith was placed 67th with £248 million turnover. Appleyard’s addition means the group expects 2024 revenues of around £300m which will see it climb the rankings.

Indeed, Dougal Keith says the business’s steady growth over the past few years is part of its vision of being in the top 50 motor groups. With the Ringways acquisition well bedded-in, its acquisition of Colin Appleyard comes at a perfect time, allowing it to expand further within the territory and give it a scaled entry point with Suzuki.

The Appleyard deal was brokered by UHY Manchester whose chief executive David Kendrick says the business’s second generation leadership has spearheaded the strategic acquisitions and focussed brand partnerships to create a northern powerhouse which has grown to represent nine brands spread over 19 business units – with further expansion in the pipeline.  

“Although the mantra of ‘turnover is vanity’ is often uttered by the winner of this award,” says Kendrick, “there are several key benefits of growing to be a business with turnover which will be forecast to hit £300m, especially where investment in the team around you is such a key success of this business.

“As with many family businesses, the current operation is a far cry from the original, but throughout there is a clear focus on the effective use of cash and close control on costs. Perhaps this is something in the blood of the managing directors who take great pride in their team and their family heritage.”

AM editor and awards judge Tim Rose added: "The winners of this year’s Strategic Success Award have shown the ability to adapt with the times, to cleverly select the right new opportunities and to do so without the loss of family values. Barely eight years since this decades-old business finally reached the threshold of the AM100, it is now climbing towards the middle of our ranking of the UK’s 100 largest dealer groups.

"Its skilled and passionate workforce is delivering sales and profits that our winners’ father could never have imagined when he started the business a few years after the end of World War Two."