Law firm Hill Dickinson has advised on the sale of family-owned car dealership Soper of Lincoln BMW & MINI, based in Lincolnshire, to Group 1 Automotive UK Limited. David Kendrick, Head of the North West and Automotive at Cooper Parry, provided corporate finance advice to the family.
The deal extends US-owned Group 1’s UK footprint.
Corporate partner Ian Gillis led for Hill Dickinson on the provision of legal advice to the Soper shareholders together with assistance from senior associate Olivia Jones and associate Daniel McDonagh.
It is always a pleasure to work with a family-owned business that has successfully grown to a level where it has attracted the interest of a much larger group. We were delighted to advise Andrew Tullie and work alongside industry expert Dave Kendrick at Cooper Parry to get this deal over the line and see Soper embark on this next stage of growth as part of the Group 1 family. I wish both parties the very best for the future.Ian Gillis
Partner
Commenting on the deal, Ian Gillis said: “It is always a pleasure to work with a family-owned business that has successfully grown to a level where it has attracted the interest of a much larger group. We were delighted to advise Andrew Tullie and work alongside industry expert Dave Kendrick at Cooper Parry to get this deal over the line and see Soper embark on this next stage of growth as part of the Group 1 family. I wish both parties the very best for the future.”
Soper of Lincoln BMW & MINI was originally owned by retired racing driver Steve Soper, who sold the business to Andrew Tullie in 2015.
Group 1 Automotive has operated in the UK since 2007 and now has 115 dealerships across the market. In August 2024, Group 1 completed a £346 million takeover of Inchcape Retail, adding 54 car and van dealerships, which puts it into the top five of the AM100 rankings of UK’s largest motor retailers.