FRESH from a record profit result for 2015, AP Eagers is on the move with a change of address for its corporate office and a new multi-franchise dealership in Brisbane.

The moves were triggered by its Austral Volkswagen franchise last month moving to a new building in Newstead.

AP Eagers managing director and CEO Martin Ward told GoAutoNews Premium that the old Volkswagen premises would be demolished and the site redeveloped as the new home for its Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo franchises.

“This multi-franchise dealership will be close – about 600m – to the company’s proposed new corporate office that will be completed later this year,” he said.

Mr Ward said that the old site in Fortitude Valley, which once held the Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo dealership, has been sold and will be redeveloped for a mixed-use high-rise development.

“This helped pay for our purchase of Birrell Motors,” he said.

Birrell Motors Group comprises Tasmanian franchises of Holden, HSV, Hyundai, Citroen, Isuzu Trucks, Volvo Trucks, Mack Trucks and UD Trucks. In Victoria, it includes Silver Star Motors (Mercedes-Benz) in Doncaster and Burwood, Mercedes-Benz Ringwood, and Waverley Toyota. Birrell was bought for $114 million in November 2015 and settled on April 1 this year.

Birrell was the second major purchase made in 2015 after buying Crampton Automotive Group in Queensland for $30 million and signing the contract last week. The group includes West-Star Motors and Toowoomba Holden (Toowoomba) with Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Peugeot, Citroen, Performax, HSV and Holden brands, plus Port City Autos (Maryborough and Hervey Bay) representing Holden, Subaru, Chrysler Jeep Dodge, and Isuzu Trucks brands.

Mr Ward, emphasising consolidation was the key to future growth in 2016, said there would be no “significant” purchases in 2016.

“Nothing as big as what we did in 2015,” he said. “We spent a lot of money on new acquisitions last year – about $150 million. We have some acquisitions coming up but they are smaller that what we did in 2015.”

AP Eagers has already completed its purchase of the Chrysler Jeep Dodge and the Kia dealership in Ipswich.

“These will be incorporated into Boettchers,” Mr Ward said of the dealer group that AP Eagers bought in 2014, and that made a healthy contribution to the 2015 annual financial result.

Ian Boettcher Motors comprises Mazda, Nissan, Volkswagen, Suzuki and Proton in Ipswich.

AP Eagers also bought the Craig Black Group in 2014 which represents Toyota, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi and Great Wall at multiple locations in south-west and central Queensland.

By Neil Dowling