Eastern Western buys Grassicks BMW 02 | 08 | 2017
ONE OF SCOTLAND’S oldest and most famous names in car dealerships, Grassicks — which operated BMW and Mini in Perth — has been bought by the Edinburgh-based Eastern Western Motor Group.
Family-owned Grassicks Garage started trading in 1922 and was awarded the BMW franchise in 1971, and was one of the last few independent BMW and Mini businesses in the UK.
The business has been privately owned by the Grassicks family since inception with a dealership in Perth.
Today’s agreement means Eastern Western now represents 12 franchise brands from over 25 locations — now including two BMW and Mini sites after the Grassicks purchase — within an hour’s drive of Edinburgh.
“This acquisition further cements our relationship with one of our key franchise partners and is in line with our strategy of growing and developing with existing brand partners in new geographical territories,” Douglas Brown, chairman of Eastern Western Motor Group, said.
“We look forward to welcoming all of Grassicks’ 60 colleagues into the Group and further developing the Grassicks brand and business in the future.
Related: New Mini dealership for Scotland
“We are also delighted that Colin Grassick will remain as a brand ambassador and he will help us nurture existing relationships within this territory.”
Colin Grassick, managing director of Grassick’s Garage, said: “I look forward to this move protecting the longevity of Grassick’s values in an ever-increasingly competitive market.
“I would like to thank my loyal staff, who will continue to look after our customers to the high level of customer care we have always strived to offer. I wish the new owners every success.”
David Kendrick, Partner at UHY Hacker Young who advised the shareholders of Grassicks with the sale said: “With the increasing pressures on volumes it is becoming harder and harder for the single site operators within the premium brands to compete.
“The Grassicks business has been a fantastic partner for BMW since 1971, however with no succession in the business the obvious choice for the shareholders was to dispose of the dealerships to another larger operator.”
Related: New £5m Porsche Centre for Perth
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Jim McGill