Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 Winners Edition

Chief Financial Officer at Lookers plc Robin Gregson Driving home continued growth As CFO for Lookers, Robin Gregson’s bread and butter are numbers. However, he is equally at home casting a critical eye over liquidity and capital structures as he is weighing up the value of the latest supercar parked up at one of the company’s 153 franchised dealerships up and down the country. For Gregson, the role of CFO at a major motor retailer is a marriage made in heaven. Gregson started his career as an accountant with Deloitte before finding his raison d’être; the motor industry and a role at CD Bramhall, rising to Finance Director, a role which he would successfully occupy for six years. When the firm was acquired by Pendragon in 2004, Gregson decided that the time was right to diversify his range of experience in the privately-owned ATM business. However, the automotive industry would work its charms once again in 2009, when Gregson secured the position of FD at Lookers. It’s a role that Gregson is obviously relishing, having helped Lookers to oversee eight consecutive years of growth, with annual revenues growing to £4.3bn, complimented by a robust capital structure and a strong cash flow. And while market forces have always played a major part in the prevailing conditions of the motor sector, the general health of Lookers’ finances is anything but fortuitous. Gregson has been instrumental in key moments in the group’s recent history, including the acquisitions of both Knights Group and Drayton Group for £26.6m and £56.3 respectively and the sale of the company’s parts department. Under his financial stewardship, the company recently published healthy interim results for the first half of 2017, with revenues increasing by 5% to £2.46bn (2016: £2.34bn) as a result of growth from new and used cars , as well as aftersales, while operating profit from continuing operations grew by 13% to £58.1m. Growth was attributed to continued investment in the Lookers multi-channel customer experience, a strengthened portfolio and growth in new car sales which also underpinned continued demand for the company’s industry leading aftersales services. However, the road to financial security is never without a few bumps along the way, and this was to be the case when Gregson took up his post at Lookers. It was during a time when the global financial crisis was beginning to tighten its grip on the market. Illustrating his ability to act with a cool head from the off, Gregson faced the banks and finance facilities head-on when many of them were predisposed to tightening the purse strings. www.Lookers.co.uk UNITED KINGDOM Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 26 www.finance-monthly.com