George Soros takes 4.5% stake in car dealership Lookers

A CAR dealership chain with 69 sites has caught the eye of billionaire investor George Soros, who has bought a 
4.5 per cent stake in the business.

The 82-year-old, famous for his £10 billion bet against the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992, acquired the shares in Lookers via Soros Fund Management.

He made the move in the week that the company’s second biggest shareholder, Trefick, sold the 17.3 per cent stake it held during an unsuccessful attempt to buy the business last year.

The sale of shares by Trefick – the vehicle of businessman and veteran investor Jack Petchey – increased liquidity in shares of the UK dealership, which competes with Inchcape and Evans Halshaw owner Pendragon.

Lookers, which owns the Charles Hurst brand in Northern Ireland and Taggarts in Scotland, was valued at £267.6 million on the London stock market on Friday evening, valuing the Soros holding at around £12m.

The investment guru also recently took a near 8 per cent stake in Manchester United.