In independently owned collision repair shops, it’s common for the owner’s spouse to play a role in the business, but if your spouse is working full-time in your business and hasn’t been hired as an employee, you could be missing out on a ton of tax benefits – even the IRS says this is one Read more about For Better or Worse, In Sickness and… In the Shop?[…]
Last week I was invited the CARSTAR North American Conference. While CARSTAR has been active in both the US and Canada for decades, this is the first time that CARSTAR organized a unified North America conference. I was invited to the conference to work with some of CARSTAR’s top MSOs to review growth opportunities in Read more about I Was Invited to the CARSTAR North American Conference. Here Is What I Learned.[…]
Last week was a busy week for acquisitions in the aftermarket. The Boyd Group acquired the largest collision repairer in Canada, Uni-Select (parent company of FinishMaster) expanded into the UK with the acquisition of The Parts Alliance, and Carl Icahn announced the acquisition of Precision Auto, adding 250 service, lube and carwash locations to his Read more about Boyd Acquires Assured and Other Acquisitions in the Automotive Aftermarket[…]
One of the most common questions I receive is what is the average auto body shop selling multiple? Multiples are on everyone’s mind. Sellers want a quick an easy way to understand what their business is worth. Buyers want a way to know they are not over paying for a business. Even banks and financing Read more about Auto Body Shop Selling Multiple – what you need to know to maximize your multiple[…]
I’m writing this on my way back from Vancouver, Canada. I spent the past few days on site with a client focused on developing administrative SOPs to drive consistency in financial reporting. Then a quick meeting with an investment bank involved in the industry. I even took a sea plane over the harbor and got Read more about Collision M&A Consolidation Trends Update[…]
I spent last week at NACE in Anaheim California. For those of you unfamiliar with NACE, it is the only US industry trade show dedicated to the collision repair industry. In the past I have done video updates from the floor during the week, but this year I was so busy that I just couldn’t find Read more about I attended NACE 2016 and this is what I learned[…]
An interesting thing happened in the North American collision repair market. While the four largest collision repairers have for some time stopped announcing even the largest recent acquisitions, the pace of consolidation has continued at a rabid pace. Since the beginning of 2012, the four largest operators have more than tripled the number of locations Read more about Consolidation Trends Update: Q2 2016 – What Happened?[…]
I’m back from Barcelona, having presented at IBIS (International Bodyshop Industry Symposium) on consolidation trends. IBIS is one of the marquee organizations, the only I know of that looks at the collision industry globally. It was a true honor to get in front of this group. So many fascinating presentations – email me to discuss Read more about $6 Billion by 2020. Is that even possible???[…]
At present, Boyd is the only publicly traded company collision repair company in North America. The other three major consolidators are privately held, owned by various private equity groups. The company trades as a unit trust on the Toronto Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization of well over a $1 billion – $1.33 billion Read more about What I discovered when I read Boyd’s 2015 Income Statement[…]
Consolidation in the collision industry continues to march forward at an astounding pace. The largest companies in the industry continue to aggressively grow through acquisitions, or by buying existing collision repair operators. And as these companies continue to aggressively expand we see continued consolidation in adjacent segments that sell into the industry, especially in paint Read more about Collision Industry Consolidation Trends: Q1 2016[…]
The last four full weeks of the year are upon us. Only 33 days full working days left this year (or less depending on your holiday schedule). I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you have not already started to set your business plans in place for 2016 you are behind Read more about 2015 Acquisition Trends Update: The Floodgates Open[…]
Consolidation has been going on in the industry in the U.S. since the 90s. There have been some major successes as well as some spectacular failures. The collision industry, and the entire automotive industry in general, is not the first industry to ever undergo consolidation. And it certainly will not be the last.
Consolidation has taken place for nearly two decades now. Nearly every current business owner in the collision industry “lived through” the first round of consolidation. Because of this “survivor bias” some feel that the current round of consolidation is destined to fail the way they believe the prior round did. […]