Lithia to axe 250 jobs, Carstores to take the brunt

US-based giant Lithia, the new owner of Pendragon, has unveiled plans to axe hundreds of jobs in the UK.

Lithia, which bought Pendragon at the end of last year in a £397 million deal, has alerted staff of plans to close CarStore, according to reports in the Financial Times.

Lithia already had just over 50 franchised outlets in the UK in its Jardine Motors business, which it acquired in 2022.

The Pendragon acquisition added 137 franchised outlets including Stratstone and Evans Halshaw plus its Carstore car supermarkets, according to the 2023 AM100 figures.

The move will see around 250 jobs go – or one in 20 staff, said the FT, mostly from closing nine CarStore sites and and seven CarStore pods as Lithia looks to integrate the UK businesses and focus on Evans Halshaw and Stratstone.

It is understood that four CarStore sites will be refranchised in an expanded partnership with three existing OEMs, while its remaining four CarStore pods will become Evans Halshaw Direct sites.

Lithia became embroiled in a bidding war for Pendragon last autumn, as its initial offer attracted counter-offers from overseas rivals Hedin and Penske.

Lithia increased its acquisition offer for Pendragon by 42%, another £117 million, taking the amount being offered for all its Stratstone, Evans Halshaw, Carstore and PVM motor businesses up to £397 million.