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Pinewood Technologies

Pinewood Technologies Group PLC
Company typePublic limited company
LSE: PINE
IndustrySoftware
PredecessorWilliams Holdings
Founded1989; 35 years ago (1989)
HeadquartersBirmingham
Key people
RevenueIncrease £24.5 million (2024)[1]
Increase £10.0 million (2024)[1]
Increase £8.3 million (2024)[1]
Websitewww.pinewood.ai

Pinewood Technologies Group PLC (LSE: PINE) is a business focused on pure-play software-as-a-service for car dealerships. The company is based at Solihull Parkway, Birmingham. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange

History

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The Pendragon logo used by the company until February 2024

The company was established when the vehicle division of Williams Holdings, which operated nineteen car dealerships, was demerged as Pendragon PLC in November 1989.[2] From that time until April 2010, the company was chaired by Sir Nigel Rudd.[3]

In 1990, the company expanded its portfolio to incorporate volume car franchises, such as Ford and Vauxhall. Following this, Pendragon began a series of high profile acquisitions. The Stratstone brand, largely associated with London, was acquired in 1992, establishing a relationship for Pendragon with Jaguar and Land Rover.[4] In August 1997, the company acquired 17 volume car dealerships from Lex Service PLC.[5]

In August 1998, Pinewood Computers was acquired by Pendragon, expanding the company's portfolio into the specialist areas of dealer management systems, telecommunications and remote security monitoring systems for the retail motor industry.[6]

Pendragon went on to acquire Evans Halshaw of Birmingham in February 1999.[4] After this, a further 32 franchised dealerships were bought from Lex Service PLC in March 2000.[7]

In July 2000, Pendragon expanded into America, with their acquisition of Bauer Jaguar, the third largest Jaguar dealership in America. Throughout the remainder of 2000 and into 2001, various other dealerships based in California were acquired including, in April 2001, Hornburg, which held the Jaguar and Land Rover dealership in Los Angeles.[8]

Pendragon PLC acquired C. D. Bramall of Harrogate, taking on 111 new dealerships, in March 2004,[9][10] and then bought Reg Vardy PLC of Sunderland, taking on 96 new dealerships, in December 2005.[11] However, in April 2006, Pendragon were unable to complete a proposed takeover of Lookers.[12] Soon thereafter, the automotive industry was hit by a recession, leading to the closure of dealerships, and job cuts in both the United Kingdom and United States.[13][14]

In April 2019, shares in the company fell 13%, after it posted their £2.8 million first quarter loss, substantially below the £6 million profit predicted by analysts.[15] After an initial business review in June 2019, it was found that losses incurred by the Car Store division had jumped from £11.9m in 2018 to over £25m in 2019, as a result of excess used car stock and execution inefficiency.[16] Its CEO, Mark Herbert, left the company after serving for just three months.[17]

Following the sale of its motor dealerships (Stratstone, Evans Halshaw, California and Car Store) to Lithia Motors, the company changed its name from Pendragon PLC to Pinewood Technologies in February 2024.[18]

In September 2024, Pinewood Technologies announced a strategic $4.2 million minority investment in Seez, a Dubai-based automotive AI company.[19]

On 24 October 2024 Pinewood Technologies announced its customer-facing name is now Pinewood Automotive Intelligence, with a contemporary brand look that puts tech at the heart of the business and underpins global growth plans that were announced to investors at the company's first Capital Markets Day.[20]

Operations

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The company is focused on pure-play software-as-a-service for car dealerships.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Annual Results for the year ended 31 January 2024" (PDF). Pendragon. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Bottom Line: Good timing at Pendragon". The Independent. 23 March 1993. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  3. ^ Ruddick, Graham (30 April 2010). "Pendragon's Sir Nigel Rudd to step down after 20 years". The Daily Telegraph.
  4. ^ a b "Top 200 companies: Pendragon". Nottingham Post. 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  5. ^ "Firm used market helps Pendragon group profits to 30% rise". Fleet News. 18 March 1998. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Pinewood goes for growth". Motor Trader. 15 October 2001. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Late News". Automotive News Europe. 13 March 2000.
  8. ^ "Pendragon buys Jaguar and Land Rover outlets in US". am-online.com. 18 April 2001. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  9. ^ "Completed acquisition by Pendragon plc of CD Bramall plc" (PDF). Office of Fair Trading. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Pendragon takeover of CD Bramall takes it to the top". Northern Echo. 24 January 2004. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  11. ^ Reid, Scott (26 April 2008). "Pendragon in top gear". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 29 June 2014.
  12. ^ "Pendragon takeover plan falters". The Birmingham Post. 28 April 2006. Archived from the original on 29 June 2014.
  13. ^ Manning, Clinton (1 July 2008). "your money: Pendragon faces bumpy ride". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 29 June 2014.
  14. ^ Reid, Scott (21 February 2008). "Pendragon's warning of bumpy road ahead in 2008 for car sales". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 29 June 2014.
  15. ^ "Luxury car seller Pendragon dives after slower sales cause shock loss". Evening Standard. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  16. ^ "Pendragon seeks 'self-help opportunities' after significant loss predictions". City AM. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  17. ^ "Pendragon boss quits after just three months steering UK car dealer". Reuters. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  18. ^ "Pendragon completes name change". Insider Media. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Pinewood Technologies invests $4.2m in Seez App". Motor Finance Online. 6 September 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  20. ^ "Dealer management systems provider Pinewood rebrands to bring AI to the fore". Car Dealer Magazine. 28 October 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  21. ^ "Pinewood Technologies CEO Berman sells GBP500,000 in shares". Morning Star. 20 February 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
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