The partnership will give Peter Warren the ability to move forward faster in the future, its CEO and chairman Paul Warren told GoAutoNews Premium.

“It gives us access to capital in order for us to grow and that required more funds than we, as a family-owned company, could raise ourselves,” he said.

“We have to look to the future and structure of the company to grow in the best manner.

“We considered listing, along with other ideas, but we found that Quadrant was the better choice for the future for us. It has had experience in the past with similar company structures.”

Mr Warren has not ruled out a public listing.

“It is possible that down the track, if the opportunities present themselves, that we could look at a public listing,” he said.

The funds from the partnership with Quadrant will be used for future growth.

Mr Warren said he was “looking at acquisitions.

“It all has to do with the availability of funds,” he said. “We are working with a few people at the moment.

“We won’t say who we are talking to or when we could embark on acquisitions but it’s something we are working on now.”

Quadrant, which places assets into a series of funds, has also partnered with Burson Auto Parts, Fitness First (which joins its involvement with Goodlife and Jetts), Zip Industries and VIP Petfoods.

The Peter Warren Automotive Group has nine dealerships in NSW – including Macarthur Automotive and two franchises in Bathurst – and Queensland, including Sunshine Automotive. It started in 1958 by Paul’s father, the late Peter Warren, in the outer Sydney suburb of Liverpool.

It now turns over about $1 billion, has 1100 employees, sells 21,000 cars a year and has 23 brands including Rolls-Royce, McLaren and Mercedes-Benz.

Its flagship is the 10 hectare Warwick Farm complex that has 13 brands, two used-car outlets, a licensed restaurant and electric carts to transport customers.

A partnership with an equity firm was also used by Crick Auto Group to expand its capital base.

Crick joined with Sydney-based Archer Capital in December 2015. However, Mr Warren said the structure of that agreement was not the same as his relationship with Quadrant.

By Neil Dowling

From left: Anthony, Brad and Paul Warren