European Metals Holdings Regulatory News (EMH)

1 Mar 2005 16:28

European Motor Hldgs PLC01 March 2005 EUROPEAN MOTOR HOLDINGS plc EXPANSION OF BENTLEY OPERATIONS European Motor Holdings plc ("EMH") is delighted to announce that it has todayacquired the whole of the issued share capital of Michael Powles Limited("Powles") for a cash consideration not exceeding £5.2 million subject tofinalisation of completion accounts, including £4.1 million in respect ofgoodwill. Powles holds the Bentley franchise in Leicester and its wholly ownedsubsidiary holds the Bentley franchise in Norwich. The audited accounts ofPowles and its subsidiary for the year ended 31 December 2003 showed anaggregate loss before taxation of £77,000. The unaudited management accounts ofPowles and its subsidiary for the 12 months ended 31 December 2004 indicate anaggregate profit before taxation of £1.3 million. The EMH group's first Bentley dealership was opened in Newcastle in March 2004.At that time the profitability of the franchise was being transformed throughthe introduction of the very successful Continental GT. Sales of this two doorcoupe led to a total of 1,933 national registrations for Bentley in 2004, anincrease of 638%. The acquisition of Powles will allow the EMH group to expandits Bentley operations into the East Midlands and East Anglia. The enlargedBentley operations will also be able to capitalise upon the introduction of thenew Continental Flying Spur four door saloon which will be launched in June2005, together with other new models planned by Bentley over the next two years. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange