Steer Automotive Group have accelerated their growth plans by acquiring the combined businesses of Apollo Motor Group and Balgores Motors.
The two businesses total 32 repair locations, £90m turnover and 700 staff and their acquisition builds on Steer’s network, extending further into the south of England and increasing Steer’s scale and capacity in the region.
Plans are already in place to continue to the development with a number of new sites planned over the second half of the year.
Apollo Motor Group has 20 sites located across the South East and South West of England. Led by the current management team of Paul Clements, Chris Dore, Bradley Eyles and Mark Fletcher, the business has a strong reputation nationally for the quality of its operations and in particular its focus on its staff and Academy for which they have won numerous awards.
Balgores Motors was founded in 1982 and has grown into 12 sites with a heavy bias towards prestige vehicle manufacturer approvals. Led by Gary Dench, Steve Austin and Andy Pennell, the company has a reputation for the technical quality of its repair operations and the culture of the workforce, many of whom have achieved long service awards.
Richard Steer, Chief Executive, said, “I have known Graham, Tracy and Paul for many years and have watched the successful development of their businesses into the superb operations they are today. We have a clear focus on acquiring strong well-established businesses that support our growth strategy and when the opportunity presented itself we jumped at the chance to add Apollo and Balgores to our operations. I’d like to personally thank Graham, Tracy and Paul for trusting us with the next chapter in the development of their companies. We are very excited about the prospects and look forward to working with the incumbent management teams on the journey ahead.”
Graham and Tracy Eyles said, “We’re very proud of what we’ve built at Apollo and when we decided it was time to let someone else take on the baton it was clear that Richard and the team at Steer were the obvious choice to do that.”
Paul Austin said, “Over the last 40 years Balgores has become synonymous with quality repairs and outstanding customer service but now is the time for Steer Automotive Group to take the business forward. I look forward to seeing the business continue to prosper and thank everyone involved who has supported us in making Balgores what it is today.”
