February 6, 2016 — Group 1 Automotive continues to trim its presence in the Northeast divesting of three dealerships there within the last several weeks. Meanwhile, the nation’s third largest dealer group announced this week it has completed the acquisition of the 12-store Spire Automotive Group located in metro London in the United Kingdom.

At the end of the year, Group 1 sold its Mercedes Benz dealership in Freehold, NJ to the Ray Catena Group. The group also announced this week it has sold its Ira Toyota dealership in Milford, MA to Lithia Motors’ DCH subsidiary while shuttering the Ira Volkswagen store also in Freehold. 

The purchase of Spire gives Group 1 Automotive 29 dealerships in the U.K. which should generate approximately $1.8 billion in annual revenue. Spire’s 12 dealerships include four Audi stores, three BMW/MINI dealerships along with an aftersales center; two Seat stores; one each of Jaguar, Skoda and a Volkswagen commercial vehicle dealership.

With the acquisition, Group 1 now has 29 dealerships in the U.K. The dealership group expects its U.K. operations to generate $1.8 billion in estimated annual revenue.