Auto dealer Inchcape will sell the Russian business to local management

The British premium auto dealer Inchcape will leave Russia, by selling the business to local management for 76 million Euros with an installment plan of 5 years, follows from the company's financial statements. The deal is scheduled to close in May 2022, Interfax writes. The purchase price of 76 million Euros will be paid in annual installments over 5 years.

The dealer intends to invest the proceeds from the sale of Russian assets into the development of the main distribution business. It follows from the reporting that the Inchcape business will be sold to local management under the leadership of the current CEO and CFO. “We believe that this result best meets the needs of our OEM partners, allowing the work of our Russian colleagues to continue,” Inchcape notes. The dealer does not plan to re-enter the Russian market, but has a call option that will allow it to benefit from the increase in the value of the business for the next 7 years, in particular, if it is further sold.

After the previous year's sale of Toyota and Audi sales assets in St. Petersburg to dealer Klyuchavto for £70m, Inchcape retained the Moscow retail business of BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota and Volvo. It brought about £740m of revenue the previous year and a pre-tax profit of £47m, according to the company. At the same time, in pre-Covid times, the peak of profitability was at the level of 10 million pounds.