Final Results

Lookers PLC
20 March 2003

                                                                 20th March 2003

                                        LOOKERS PLC
               PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2002

Lookers plc, a leading national retail motor group, today reports record results
for the 12 months to 31st December 2002.

An analyst meeting will be held at the offices of Hudson Sandler at 29 Cloth
Fair, London EC1A 7NN at 11.00am today.

A press briefing will be held at 12.45pm at the same address.  Please contact
Rebecca Ghent on 020 7796 4133 to notify attendance.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Turnover up 10% to £790.0 million (2001: £717.9 million)
  • Profit before tax and goodwill up 17% to £12.6 million (2001: £10.8
    million) despite £0.8 million of reorganisation costs.
  • Profit before tax up 18% to a record level of £11.8 million (2001: £10.1
    million)
  • Earnings per share up 20% to 22.6 pence
  • Total dividend up 7% to 10.0 pence (2001: 9.35 pence)
  • Gearing reduced to 39% from 56% last year, despite significant ongoing
    investment
  • New cars sold up 9% against a market increase of 4.3%
  • Aftersales profitability up 13%
  • Significant extension of partnerships with Vauxhall, Renault, Honda and
    Premier Auto Group
  • Strategic entry into Scotland with acquisition of Taggarts - Glasgow in
    2003
  • Redemption of preference shares at current interest rates will increase
    future earnings per share by 1.8 pence (and add  £600,000 per annum to
    retained earnings)

Commenting on the performance of the Group, Fred Maguire, Chairman, said:

'I am delighted to be able to announce another record year of turnover and
profit for Lookers, building on our strong performance in 2001 and enhancing our
track record of steady growth under strong management control. Acquisitions made
during the first half of 2002 have been integrated successfully into the Group
and we have seen strong growth in car sales and aftersales business.

'Looking ahead to 2003, trading in the first quarter has been encouraging.  We
are particularly pleased by the performance of the businesses acquired at the
start of the year and the volume of sales achieved so far in March - a key
trading month involving a registration plate change.

'Whilst the motor industry expects sales of new cars in 2003 to reduce slightly
from the levels achieved in 2001 and 2002 the continued growth in our used car
retail and aftersales operations will help to offset the impact on Lookers of
any such reduction. During 2003 we expect immediately to see the benefits of the
reorganisation which took place in the year under review. Overall, the Board
believes Lookers is very well placed to make excellent progress in the current
year.'

Enquiries
Fred Maguire, Chairman
Ken Surgenor, Chief Executive
David Dyson, Group Financial Director
Telephone:      [phone] (on Thursday 20 March 2003 only)  0161 291 0043 (thereafter)
Andrew Hayes/James Hill, Hudson Sandler:  020 7796 4133



CHAIRMAN'S REVIEW

Lookers achieved an outstanding set of results in 2002 whilst continuing with
the successful strategic development of the business. Turnover was up 10% to a
record £790.0 million (2001: £717.9 million) and profit before taxation up 18%
to a record £11.8 million (2001: £10.1 million). This was achieved despite
bearing costs of £800,000 in reorganising our business and absorbing a £1
million increase in pension costs. EPS was up 20% to 22.6 pence (2001: 18.9
pence). The total number of cars sold increased to a record 82,000.

The excellent progress during the year reflects the strength of our operations
following the investment in recent years in our 'Customers for Life' initiatives
and the strategic development of our relationships with our manufacturing
partners.

During 2002 we acquired the rights to be the sole authorised distributors for
Vauxhall in Birmingham and Liverpool. With existing rights in Chester and the
Wirral, we are now one of the largest Vauxhall retailers in the UK.

The Group's strong existing franchise portfolio was further enhanced at the end
of 2002, with the acquisition of the Volvo franchise for central and south Essex
and in early 2003 with the purchase of Jackson and Edwards Ltd, the Renault
franchise for south Manchester and central Cheshire.

In addition, in February 2003, we acquired Taggarts of Glasgow which takes
Lookers into Scotland for the first time. This acquisition also confirms the
Group's position as the largest retailer of Jaguar and Land Rover in Premier
Automotive Group's northern region.

Our strategy remains to acquire good quality privately owned businesses which
offer us the best prospective returns on our investment.

Dividend

Reflecting management's ongoing confidence in the outlook of the Group, the
Board is pleased to declare a 7% increase in the final dividend, from 6.5 pence
to 7.0 pence. This will be paid on 30th May 2003 to shareholders on the register
on 16th May 2003. With the interim dividend of 3.0 pence paid on 29th November
2002 this brings the total dividend for the year to 10.0 pence (2001: 9.35
pence).

Outlook

Trading in the first quarter has been encouraging. We are particularly pleased
by the performance of the businesses acquired in the year to date and by the
volume of sales achieved so far in March - a key trading month involving a
registration plate change.

Much has been made of the expected reduction in the new car market in 2003.
Industry forecasts all suggest a market in excess of 2.3 million units which is
still a significant volume and would represent one of the best years on record.
The continued growth in our used retail and aftersales operations will help to
offset any reduction from new car sales. In addition, 2003 will immediately see
the benefits of reorganisation which took place in the prior year.

Overall, the Board believes Lookers is very well placed to make excellent
progress in the current year.


Fred Maguire           20th March 2003
Chairman



CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S REVIEW

Introduction

The Group continued to make excellent progress during the year and delivered
another record financial performance. This success reflects our longstanding
commitment to providing outstanding customer care, tight management controls and
the strategic development of our partnerships with successful manufacturers.

We currently represent 22 manufacturers which are equally split between prestige
and volume franchises from 86 outlets in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland
- which we consider to be a very well balanced portfolio.

During the year, we took the opportunity to rationalise the business to focus on
a franchise, rather than regional, structure for our management team. This
structure allows us to further benefit from economies of scale and to achieve a
greater depth of understanding and focus on individual franchise partnerships.
In addition, we began the process of reorganising the Company capital structure
by redeeming the Preference Shares and this was completed just after the year
end.  The costs of all of the above were in excess of £800,000, but I am
confident that we will reap the benefits of this in full in the current year.

The principal activity of the Group is the sale and servicing of motor vehicles.
Across the whole Group, sales of vehicles accounted for 54% of gross profit,
and aftersales for 46%.  Whilst the ratios have not changed, we have seen
improvements in all areas of our business.

Charles Hurst, our subsidiary in Northern Ireland, had another record year and
was a strong contributor to Group profits and operating cash flow. Charles Hurst
is still, by far, the market leader in Northern Ireland.

Trading and Regulatory Environment

The 2002 market for both new and used cars in the UK was sustained due to robust
consumer confidence and the low cost of finance. The overall level of new car
registrations increased by 4.3% year on year although the picture is mixed
dependent upon the franchises concerned.  There is much debate about economic
uncertainty.  However we still expect 2003 to be the third highest market on
record for car sales. Our manufacturer partners have exciting new models coming
on stream and offer consumers low financing costs which, combined with our
emphasis on delivering high quality service to our customers through our '
Customers for Life' initiatives, enable us to be confident that Lookers is well
placed to make progress in this more challenging trading environment.

The revised Block Exemption regulations, currently being implemented in the
industry, will favour larger dealer groups such as ourselves and significant
opportunities are arising as our manufacturer partners restructure their
franchise networks ahead of the implementation of the new regulations in October
2003.

Operating Review

Trading

Our operating priorities continue to be investment in our 'Customers for Life'
programmes and strategic franchise extension with our preferred manufacturing
partners. The management structure put in place during 2002, with young and
dynamic Franchise Directors responsible for a franchise brand on a national
level, is ensuring that newly acquired businesses are quickly integrated and is
increasing returns across the business.

Delivering outstanding quality service to our customers lies at the heart of our
business. We have continued to invest in our Customer Management Centre in
Liverpool, allowing us to reinforce our customer relationship management
programmes. Understanding our customers' needs affords us the opportunity to
maximise our profit opportunity, particularly in aftersales which will continue
to grow following the record levels of new car sales.

Further development of our sub-prime finance arm Look 4 Car Credit.com, whereby
we source cars to match the payment patterns of this segment of our customer
base, has also allowed us to offer our customers more choice to finance their
purchases and to drive sales.

Our track record of long-term investment continues to deliver growth in the
profitability of our aftersales business.  In all areas of aftersales - service,
parts and bodyshop we have increased the contribution to profitability.

Our performance continues to be recognised in national awards. In the
prestigious 2002 Motor Trader Awards, we were delighted to win the 'Excellence
in Customer Care' award and be highly commended in the Dealer Group category.

During the year we continued to invest in the quality of our facilities to
achieve good organic growth. In Northern Ireland, we have completed many of the
projects to upgrade and extend our facilities. We have already built one of the
first combined Renault and Nissan facilities on the Boucher Road, Belfast site.
The new Lexus stand-alone facility was completed in the first half and since it
has been operating on this basis it has performed extremely well.  The new
15,000 sq ft Peugeot facility has also been completed and this is now located
onto our Boucher Road complex.

These improvements will maintain Boucher Road, Belfast's status as one of the
largest and most impressive multi-franchise sites in Europe, delivering
excellence to our customers whilst maximising performance, efficiency and
ultimately, profitability.

The refurbishment of the Vauxhall site in Selly Oak Birmingham has been
completed.  In April 2003 we will have completed our new Vauxhall site in
Chester to cover the whole of Chester and will relocate from our existing
premises. The refurbishment of the adjacent Renault site acquired last year will
be completed shortly after this.

We have been operating five motorcycle franchises from single premises on our
main Boucher Road complex for many years. The contribution from this business
during that time has been good and 2002 was no exception. On 1 April we will be
relocating our BMW franchise to a stand alone facility.

We operate a successful cash-generative tyre division in Northern Ireland, with
a high return on capital employed, which again, contributed strongly to profits
this year.

We have continued to rationalise and streamline our agricultural business -
Platts Harris Group Limited.  The results for this business, whilst
disappointing, are not material to the Group but its future is being very
carefully and continually reviewed.

Acquisitions and franchise development

Vauxhall

Over the course of 2002 we acquired four Vauxhall dealerships in the Birmingham
area. We are now the sole distributor of new Vauxhall cars in the highly
important Birmingham territory.  These businesses were previously held by three
competitors and we have therefore spent much of 2002 rationalising and
re-focusing them to operate as a market territory. We expect to see the benefits
of this begin to flow through in 2003.

In addition, we have identified a prominent site to relocate two of the existing
Vauxhall premises onto a more strategic location in Star City, one of the
largest leisure and entertainment complexes in Europe.  By combining two outlets
on one site, we will be creating a brand centre for Vauxhall in Birmingham in a
key strategic location, whilst also reducing costs. We expect this facility to
be available for operation during the early part of 2004.

During 2002 we also expanded our relationship with Vauxhall by acquiring a
dealership in Speke, Liverpool. We are now the sole distributor of new Vauxhall
cars in the market area of Liverpool and St Helens. This dealership, which is
located close to Speke International Airport, naturally sits alongside our
existing Vauxhall outlets and confirms our dominant position in this important
market territory. A rationalisation of management at the Speke dealership has
resulted in immediate returns to the Group.

Volvo -  (Premier Automotive Group)

Towards the end of 2002 we expanded our relationship with the Premier Automotive
Group by acquiring two Volvo dealerships in Chelmsford and Brentwood, Essex. We
have now relocated the Brentwood dealership onto one site in Hadleigh alongside
our existing Land Rover operations.

These transactions took place at the very end of the year and it will take the
first six months of 2003 to rationalise these businesses and have them operating
effectively, adding to Group profitability.

Honda

At the very start of 2002 we opened a new Honda dealership in Southport,
Merseyside increasing our Honda representation to five outlets and creating a
market area with our existing premises in Liverpool .  The Chatsworth Honda
business, acquired in 2001, is making a significant contribution.

Renault

Since the year end we have added two more Renault dealerships in Cheshire/South
Manchester. These acquisitions consolidate our position as one of the largest
retailers of Renault cars in the United Kingdom. In the north west, we now
operate a market area covering the market territories of Stockport,
Macclesfield, Altrincham, Northwich and Chester.  We expect these businesses to
be immediately profit enhancing for the Group.

JN Holdings Limited acquisition

In early February 2003 we acquired the entire share capital of J N Holdings
Limited, trading as Taggarts in Scotland. This acquisition gives us the Jaguar
franchise for the whole of Glasgow, as well as a Jaguar dealership in
Motherwell, together with Land Rover, MG Rover, Mazda, Unipart and Bodyshop
operations. Our entry into Scotland through this acquisition is an important
strategic development for the Group. We have retained the existing senior
management of this business in order to ensure an effective handover and the
early results from this business are encouraging.

Volkswagen

Recently we were awarded the combined market territory for Blackburn and Burnley
with Volkswagen. We currently operate a Volkswagen dealership for the Burnley
territory, but this additional dealership in Blackburn expands the territory
threefold in an area where Lookers have been present for a considerable amount
of time. Our experience of this market area and our strong existing relationship
with Volkswagen, will benefit us as we begin to operate in Blackburn from the
second quarter.

Outlook

A large part of 2002 was spent on changing the Group structure to a brand
specific management approach.  We have taken the opportunity to remove
unnecessary cost.  We have reviewed the financial structure of the business and
taken positive action. We have also reviewed our acquisition opportunities
carefully, and invested where we believe we can achieve acceptable returns.  We
will continue this strategy of targeting high quality businesses that fit with
our expansion  plans in terms of manufacturer and location.

There are exciting new products to come in 2003 in both our prestige and volume
marques - the Jaguar XJ series, the Bentley Continental GT and the Volvo XC90,
for all of which we have a large number of advance orders. Vauxhall will be
introducing the new Meriva and Signum and Renault will be launching the Scenic
and Cabriolet derivations of the very popular and recently introduced new
Megane.

All these factors lead me to be very optimistic about the Group's progress in
the year ahead.



Ken Surgenor                      20th March 2003
Chief Executive



FINANCIAL REVIEW

Group Results

Turnover of £790 million represents an increase of 10% over the previous year of
which £58 million is accounted for by new businesses acquired during the year.
The acquisitions took place throughout the year and include four Vauxhall
dealerships comprising the Birmingham market area, the Vauxhall dealership in
Speke to complete the Liverpool/St. Helens market area and the Volvo dealerships
in Essex to ultimately locate alongside our Land Rover dealerships in Chelmsford
and Hadleigh.

Acquisitions contributed £309,000 to operating profit.  In the case of
Birmingham, four businesses were acquired from three previous owners from March
2002 through to August 2002.  By the end of 2002, the business had been
rationalised to operate as a market area.  We expect to see the benefits of this
impacting the 2003 results, and still further in 2004 when we relocate from two
of the existing sites into one 'Brand Centre' on the highly visible Star City
Retail Park adjacent to the M6.

The new businesses acquired early in 2003 are already contributing to the
operating profitability of the Group.

Gross margins have increased slightly from 12.1% to 12.5%, which has resulted
partly from the mix of business that we do and partly from the fact that we have
avoided low margin business.  This combined with the tight control of operating
costs has provided the platform for an 8% increase in operating profit.

Interest Charges

The Group's interest cost reduced from £3.9 million to £3.3 million as a result
of lower interest costs and lower overall borrowings.  Interest cover has
increased to 4.6 times from 3.6 times last year.

We have taken advantage of the prevailing market rates and used the opportunity
to hedge a larger proportion of our medium term facilities in order to protect
the Group's position in the event of rising interest rates but allowing
participation in reducing interest rates. We believe that we now have the right
balance between hedged and unhedged facilities

Taxation

The tax charge for the year of £3 million represents an effective rate of 25.4%
and it is expected that this rate will be maintained next year because of the
continued anticipated level of property transactions.

Dividends

Ordinary dividends paid and proposed for the year amounted to £3.4 million
compared to £3.2 million in 2001.  In addition, £1.1 million of preference share
dividends were paid which, following the redemption of the preference shares in
January 2003, will not recur.  Dividend cover has increased slightly over the
previous year.

During the year we took the opportunity of buying £702,000 of preference shares
in the market and on 2nd January 2003 we redeemed the remainder of the
preference shares at par, totalling circa £13.9 million. A pro-forma profit and
loss account and balance sheet will be disclosed in the financial statements,
which explains the impact of this had we redeemed the whole of the preference
shares on 1st January 2002.  As a result of this financial reorganisation, on a
pro forma basis, the profit retained by the Group would have increased by over
£600,000 and the earnings per share would have increased by 8%. A hedging
facility has been put in place for the loan to repay the preference share
capital such that regardless of interest rate movements this financial
restructuring will always be earnings enhancing.

Cash Flow and Capital Expenditure

During the last two years, we have focused management's attention to ensure we
operate very stringent controls over our working capital - a policy we consider
to be essential, especially given the on-going level of capital investment in
new acquisitions and relocating/refurbishing our existing properties. We have
also, during the course of 2002, and will continue in 2003, to reduce the
Group's small portfolio of surplus properties.

These factors enable us to take full advantage of opportunistic purchases of
large volumes of vehicles on more competitive terms from manufacturers. A
significant quantity of such vehicles were acquired just prior to the year-end,
which will benefit 2003.

Despite this expenditure, we still generated £21.5 million of operating
cashflow.  This cash generation has provided us with a strong financial platform
and enabled us to reduce gearing to 39% at the year end compared with 56% last
year.

Shareholders Funds and Financing

Shareholders funds have increased by £4 million to £77 million, an increase of
5%.  Net of new facilities, we have repaid £10 million of loans and reduced
total borrowings by £12 million.

The Group has an appropriate mix of short and medium term facilities and
maintains good relationships with all its providers of finance.  The strong
operational cash flow achieved in 2001 and 2002 has meant that the Group had
unutilised facilities in excess of £32 million at 31 December 2002.

After accounting for the final dividend, the retained profit for the year in
excess of £4.25 million was added to reserves. We anticipate a future level of
profit retention that will support the continued strong financial position of
your Company, providing the ability to finance suitable acquisitions as and when
they arise.



David Dyson                              20th March 2003
Group Financial Director



The Directors announce the following unaudited results for the Group for the
year ended 31st December 2002



Consolidated Profit and Loss Account (Summarised)



                                                                     Year ended                Year ended
                                                                 31st December 2002        31st December 2001
                                                                    (Unaudited)                 (Audited)
                                                                        £000                      £000

Turnover
Continuing operations                                                        732,023                    717,894
Acquisitions                                                                  58,329                          -
                                                                            ________                   ________

                                                                             790,352                    717,894

                                                                             =======                    =======

Operating Profit before Goodwill Amortisation                                 15,848                     14,697
Goodwill Amortisation                                                            728                        693

Operating Profit
Continuing operations                                                         14,811                     14,004
Acquisitions                                                                     309                          -
                                                                            ________                   ________

Profit before interest                                                        15,120                     14,004
Interest payable                                                               3,291                      3,939
                                                                            ________                   ________

Profit on ordinary activities before taxation                                 11,829                     10,065
Taxation                                                                       3,007                      2,507
                                                                            ________                   ________

Profit after taxation attributable to shareholders                             8,822                      7,558
                                                                             =======                    =======

Dividends     -  preference shares                                             1,126                      1,167

              -  ordinary shares                                               3,428                      3,168
                                                                             =======                    =======

Earnings per ordinary share                                                    22.6p                      18.9p
                                                                             =======                    =======



Consolidated Balance Sheet (Summarised)

                                                                    31st December 2002        31st December 2001
                                                                       (Unaudited)                 (Audited)
                                                                           £000                      £000
FIXED ASSETS
Intangible assets                                                              9,165                      9,534
Tangible assets                                                               82,789                     86,540
                                                                            ________                   ________
                                                                              91,954                     96,074
                                                                            ________                   ________

CURRENT ASSETS
Stocks                                                                        72,963                     59,189
Debtors                                                                       36,979                     30,443
Cash at bank and in hand                                                          32                         31
                                                                            ________                   ________
                                                                             109,974                     89,663
                                                                            ________                   ________
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Bank Overdraft                                                                 3,756                      5,337
Trade Creditors                                                               64,596                     42,589
Other Creditors                                                               38,586                     39,299
Proposed dividend                                                              2,403                      2,202
                                                                            ________                   ________
                                                                             109,341                     89,427
                                                                            ________                   ________

Net current assets                                                               633                        236
                                                                            ________                   ________

Total assets less current liabilities                                         92,587                     96,310

Creditors:  Amount falling due after more than one year                       15,347                     22,677

Provisions for liabilities and charges                                           316                        691
                                                                            ________                   ________

Shareholders' funds                                                           76,924                     72,942

                                                                             =======                    =======

Shareholders' funds are attributable to:
Non-equity shareholders' funds                                                13,889                     14,591
Equity shareholder's funds                                                    63,035                     58,351
                                                                            ________                   ________
                                                                              76,924                     72,942

                                                                             =======                    =======
Total borrowings                                                              29,593                     41,515
                                                                             =======                    =======
Gearing                                                                          39%                        56%
                                                                             =======                    =======


Consolidated Cashflow Statement (Summarised)

                                                                     Year ended                Year ended
                                                                 31st December 2002        31st December 2001
                                                                    (Unaudited)                 (Audited)
                                                                        £000                      £000
Net Cash inflow from Operating Activities

Operating Profit                                                              15,120                     14,004

Depreciation Charges                                                           3,104                      2,935

Profit on sale of fixed assets                                               (1,646)                      (388)

Increase in debtors                                                          (5,923)                      (869)

Increase in creditors                                                         17,918                      7,096

(Increase)/Decrease in stocks                                                (7,728)                      1,835

Goodwill amortisation                                                            728                        693
                                                                            ________                   ________

                                                                              21,573                     25,306

Interest paid                                                                (3,378)                    (3,847)

Non equity Dividends paid                                                    (1,126)                    (1,167)

Taxation paid                                                                (3,319)                    (2,575)

Net Cash inflow/(Outflow) from Capital Expenditure
and Financial Investment                                                       4,226                    (6,536)

Net Cash Outflow from Acquisitions and Disposals                             (2,540)                    (2,388)

Equity Dividends Paid                                                        (3,227)                    (2,998)

Net Cash Outflow from Financing                                             (10,627)                    (1,436)
                                                                            ________                   ________

INCREASE IN CASH                                                               1,582                      4,359
                                                                             =======                    =======



Notes:

1.    Dividends

(a)   Ordinary shares of 25p

      An interim dividend of 3.00p per share (2001 - 2.85p per share) was paid on 29th November 2002.  The final
      dividend proposed at the rate of 7.0p per share (2001 - 6.5p per share) is payable on 30th May 2003 to
      shareholders on the register at the close of business on 16th May 2003.  Part of the consideration for the
      acquisition of J.N Holdings Limited, which completed in February 2003, was the issue of ordinary shares to
      the Vendors. The number to be issued will be determined upon agreement of the final completion accounts. The
      current best estimate of this is that the Company will issue 427,000 ordinary shares to the Vendors.  At 31st
      December 2002, there was no liability to provide for the final dividend on these shares amounting to £30,000,
      however they will be eligible to receive the final dividend on the due date.

(b)   8% Cumulative redeemable preference shares of £1 each

      Preference dividends of 4.0p per share (2001 - 4.0p per share) have been paid for the six months to 31st
      March 2002 and also for the six months to 30th September 2002 (2001 - 4.0p per share).

2.    Earnings per share

      The earnings per share is based on profit on ordinary activities after taxation and preference dividends
      calculated on a weighted average of 34,036,200 ordinary shares in issue during the year  (2001 - 33,870,060).
      There are ordinary shares or share options that give rise to a dilution of earnings per share although the
      impact is wholly insignificant (2001 - same).

3.    Financial Information

      The financial information has been prepared on the basis of the accounting policies adopted at 31 December
      2001 with the exception that Financial Reporting Standard 19 - Deferred Tax has been adopted. This has had
      the impact of increasing the deferred tax provision, and consequently reducing shareholder's funds by
      £614,000 at 31st December 2001.

      The financial information set out in the announcement does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts
      for the year ended 31 December 2002 or the year ended 31 December 2001. The financial information for the
      year ended 31 December 2001 is derived from the statutory accounts for that year which have been delivered to
      the Registrar of Companies. The auditors reported on those accounts; their report was unqualified and did not
      contain a statement under s237(2) or (3) Companies Act 1985. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31
      December 2002 will be finalised on the basis of the financial information presented by the Directors in this
      preliminary announcement and will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the Company's Annual
      General Meeting.




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