The Limburg group A&M Invest, the holding company above car dealers Delorge, Van Osch and JLR Hasselt, is taking a stake in the Antwerp group Centrauto, seller of BMW and MINI. If approved by the competition authorities, this will create Belgium’s largest car group. Together they sell nearly 20,000 cars a year.
Automotive & Mobility Invest, the holding company of entrepreneur Peter Guelinckx, has been on a remarkable growth trajectory in recent years. The group, until recently known in Limburg mainly as a dealer of the brands of the Volkswagen Group, completed the acquisition of the BMW and MINI dealer van Osch in October last year. Thus, for the first time, the premium brands BMW and Audi came under the same automotive holding company. With the acquisition of Metropool Hasselt, dealer of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands, A&M Invest added another jewel to its already richly occupied crown in September last year.
Peter Guelinckx’s hunger for acquisition, however, was far from satisfied. Today, A&M Investeen is taking an important step outside the province of Limburg. If the authorities guarding free competition give their approval, A&M Investeen will take a minority stake in the Antwerp group Centrauto, the largest BMW and MINI dealer in the country.
Growth
Centrauto was founded in 1923 and today is run by the duo of Alex Geurts and Philippe Van der Brempt, both also the sole shareholders. Centrauto, like A&M Investde past years, experienced a strong growth. Today, Centrauto is the largest dealer of both brands in Belgium, selling some 6,000 new and used BMWs and MINIs.
Today, the Centrauto group has branches in Wijnegem and Malle, but has also been active in Limburg since October 2017, with the acquisition of Beckers’ concessions in Genk and Dilsen-Stokkem. Alex Geurts and Philippe Van der Brempt, however, went in search of a partner. “I am convinced that the consolidation movement in our sector is not yet over,” said Alex Geurts. “Moreover, we are both approaching sixty. So to ensure the growth of our company also in the future, a partner was welcome.”
Participation
That potential partner was initially found abroad, but then the Limburg group A&M Invest came to the fore. “It clicked right away.”
A&M Invest will initially take a minority stake of 49 percent in Centrauto’s capital, but the intention is to take over the full set of shares within three years. All the while, the business managers will remain on board. “A&M Invest is still a rookie as a BMW dealership, so we thought it made sense to wait a while longer to take a majority stake.”
The new group will immediately become the largest car dealer in the country, selling nearly 20,000 new and used cars. This will include sales of 700 million euros and a total of 950 employees starting this year.
Lauded
By entering the capital of Centrauto, A&M Invest is investing not only in the largest BMW dealer in Belgium, but also in one of the most lauded. Indeed, according to Federauto, Centrauto is the fastest growing dealer as well as the most ecological concession in Belgium. The latter even worldwide. “Through this partnership we immediately benefit from the know-how built up by Centrauto,” says Peter Guelinckx. “While until now we grew mainly in width, Centrauto has also grown in depth, focusing more on new concepts such as shared cars. Centrauto unites reason and passion: offering mobility solutions, combined with the passion of a beautiful product.”
