Page 31 - Australasian Paint & Panel July-August 2019
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Queensland and will probably add 20% to the group total sales.
The next largest group, Suncorp in- surance-owned Capital S.M.A.R.T with over 50 sites, is being prepared for sale. It was set up to service Suncorp insur- ance customers and raised the profile of the industry with its bright corporate livery and clean, state-of-the-art shops. It's potential as an entity in an open re- pair market is enormous and it is likely to attract intense bidding and its sale will have a significant impact on the Australian repair landscape.
Meanwhile another group called Col- lision Service Industries which is listed with the Australian Stock Exchange was expected to launch in June but didn’t raise enough investment to float the
company at its first investor presentation. The shops in this group are said to have been acquired on a gradu-
al earn out for the owners
who will continue to run
the businesses for the agreed
period. There have also been
reports of another consolidator starting up. More repair chains with their economies of scale will put further pressure on the independent single loca- tion repairers.
The largest group of independent re- pairers is the Car Craft Accident Repair network which now numbers 115 repair- ers nationwide.
BODYSHOP TRENDS
A large percentage of bodyshop owners have reached potential retirement age which means that many are looking to exit the industry - this is one of the rea- sons why the market is so ripe for consoli- dation. While there are a number of en- thusiastic second-generation repairers
who have taken over or are waiting in the wings, they are a small percentage with the majority of businesses
having no succession planning at all. Hail solutions companies have en- joyed significant growth over the last three years thanks to an increase in se- vere weather events. Sydney was hit with its most financially devastating hailstorm before Christmas which saw over 80,000 cars damaged and an insur- ance bill of $1.271 billion. Another sig- nificant hailstorm hit Sydney in March and there were hail events in other states. The vast majority of repairs take place in huge 'pop up' locations using
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For further information on the BMW Advanced Car Eye 2.0 please contact your prefered BMW dealer.
^Rear camera not suitable for convertibles or vehicles fitted with rear window roller blind.
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