Group 1 Automotive announced several key company changes on Thursday, including the acquisition of a dealer group in the U.K., the divestment of three of its current dealerships, and three internal promotions.

The group has acquired the Spire Automotive Group, which includes 12 dealerships that operate primarily in the north and northwest London area. The acquisition includes four Audi stores, three BMW/MINI stores (with a BMW Aftersales center), two Seat dealerships, one Skoda dealership, one Volkswagen commercial vehicle dealership, and one Jaguar store.

Continuing to operate under the Spire name, the collection of stores is expected to generate roughly $575 million in annualized revenues.

"We are pleased to expand our relationship with BMW and the Volkswagen Group in the U.K. and to expand our relationship with Jaguar Land Rover from Brazil to the U.K.,” said Earl J. Hesterberg, the group’s president and chief executive officer. “We are also delighted to further leverage our scale and strong operating management team in the U.K."

Focusing back on the States, Group 1 has divested three dealerships, including Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen of Freehold, N.J. and Ira Toyota of Milford, Mass. Collectively, these dealerships generated approximately $160 million in trailing 12-month revenues.

"We continually evaluate our portfolio of dealerships relative to required future capital expenditures and current levels of return on investment and move to dispose of assets that do not offer appropriate returns on invested capital," Hesterberg said.

On the senior management side of the group, the company’s vice president of human resources, Brooks O’Hara, has announced his retirement effective April 1. In response, the following transitions were made effective February 1:

• Frank Grese Jr. named senior vice president of human resources, training, and operations support. (Was regional vice president of the west region)
• Daryl Kenningham named egional vice president of the west region. (Was regional vice president of the east region)
• David Fesmire named regional vice president of the east region. (Was market director of the Houston/Beaumont and Gulf Coast markets.