BMW Acquisition

Inchcape PLC
16 July 2003

16 July 2003

                     Inchcape expands BMW network

Inchcape plc (Inchcape), the international automotive services group, announces
today that it has entered into agreements with subsidiaries of William Jacks PLC
(William Jacks) to acquire William Jacks' BMW and MINI dealerships in Cobham,
Surrey, and Wimbledon, South West London. These territories adjoin Inchcape's
existing BMW and MINI business in Thames Ditton, Surrey.

The acquisition of these businesses, which is subject to the approval of William
Jacks shareholders, is for a cash consideration of approximately £6.20m, of
which £1.63m relates to goodwill. In addition there will be a further sum
payable dependent on the value of stock, and certain fixed assets and creditors
at completion.

William Jacks will hold an Extraordinary General Meeting on 31 July 2003 to
approve the sale.

On 30 June 2003 Inchcape sold its BMW and MINI business in South Bank, London to
a subsidiary of BMW (GB) Limited (BMW GB).  Inchcape will retain the premises
until March 2004, with the BMW subsidiary leasing the property until then.

Peter Johnson, Group Chief Executive of Inchcape plc, commented:

' We are delighted to represent BMW in these excellent territories. Many OEMs
are now moving towards larger scale relationships with fewer retail partners,
following the changes to European Block Exemption legislation. These
transactions are part of our UK strategy to develop large contiguous territories
with our key OEM partners and further announcements can be expected.'


Notes to editors

Inchcape, as an international automotive services group, provides quality
representation for its manufacturer partners, a choice of channels to market and
products for its retail customers and a range of business services for its
corporate customers. Operations are focused on the UK, Greece, Belgium,
Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Our key manufacturer partners are Toyota/
Lexus, Subaru, Ferrari/Maserati, BMW and the Premier Automotive Group of Ford.
Inchcape's activities include exclusive Import, Distribution and Retail,
Business Services, automotive E-commerce and Financial Services.



For further information, please contact:

Group Communications, Inchcape plc, 020 7546 0022

John Olsen/Tom Leatherbarrow, Hogarth Partnership Limited, 020 7357 9477


For further information, visit us at www.inchcape.com


                      This information is provided by RNS
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