H.R. Owen Plc has acquired the BMW and Mini franchises at Chelsea, London, from the Sytner Group. This is the final stage in creating one of the largest BMW areas of responsibility in the UK, which has been achieved through a series of acquisitions and new investments during the last four months.

The assets and business of Sytner Chelsea, with sales at Chelsea and aftersales at Fulham, were acquired for £1.9 million. In July 2003, H.R. Owen acquired the Park West BMW and Mini business, with a showroom at Chiswick and aftersales at Brentford, for £4.7 million. In April 2003, H.R. Owen paid £4.8 million for Heathrow BMW and Mini, and the Group is also committed to the building of a new BMW showroom at Gypsy Corner, Park Royal, as a “gateway” site for London. H.R. Owen will also establish a further aftersales location at its existing Park Royal service centre alongside Rolls-Royce, the third marque owned by BMW AG which H.R. Owen operates for London.

With an investment in excess of £18 million, the new dealerships join H.R. Owen's existing BMW/Mini dealership at Holland Park and its service centre in Northwest London. This will make a total of five sales, five aftersales and two body centres that are now controlled by the Group for BMW and Mini.

Nick Lancaster, H.R. Owen's Chief Executive, comments, "These new developments for BMW and Mini in West London provide customers with the benefit of being able to buy or service their cars at any of our locations in the knowledge that a consistent level of service will be maintained. Through our call centre, we plan to offer customer service on a "quick turnaround" basis, with a fully comprehensive package, including the two body centres. BMW's range will shortly be substantially expanded through new model introductions, which will significantly increase volumes. Representing BMW and Mini for over a third of the chimney pots in London is a huge opportunity for H.R. Owen.

H.R. Owen currently operates franchises for Audi, Bentley, BMW/Mini, Chrysler/Jeep, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Land Rover, Lexus, Lotus, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz/Smart, Noble, Rolls-Royce, SEAT, Volkswagen and Volvo.