Constellation Automotive has increased its stake in Vertu Motors to 19.15%.
The move was announced on May 29 the group now holding 59,748,993 voting rights in the dealer group.
Prior to the move, Constellation held 11.02% of Vertu representing 334,419,997 shares.
The notification was filed under UK disclosure requirements for major holdings, which mandate reporting when voting rights cross certain thresholds.
The move is significant. Constellation is a big player in automotive, owning the UK’s biggest auction house BCA, the biggest used car buying platform webuyanycar, the cinch used car sales platform and Marshall Motors, which is ranked six in the Motor Trader Top 200 Dealer groups with annual turnover of £3.7bn.
Constellation can now seek to build a bigger stake in the company or play a role in any potential takeover bid for Vertu.
It has history on this, playing a significant role in the purchase of Lookers by Lithia.
For its part Vertu, under CEO Robert Forrester, has been engaged in a share buy-back programme, buying its own stock from the open market and reducing the total number of outstanding shares.
This is a strategy often used to return surplus cash to investors, boost Earnings Per Share (EPS) and prevent hostile takeovers.
