INTERNATIONAL SHARE PRICES

Market analysis with financial editor Roger Willis

Contact 01237 422660 or adsales@dealernews.co.uk

fantasies as long as there was plenty of excess inventory around.

When there wasn’t, this business model hit tilt, with a succession of spectacular failures. Who remembers the union between myriad Carnell and Motorcycle City outlets, culminating in brief Dixon family hegemony under the Riossi banner? Gone and mercifully forgotten. Or BikesUK, buying out dealerships all over the country? And when that particular house of cards disintegrated, erstwhile owners buying them back at bargain prices? The last vestige of such an illusion was George White’s demise.

THE GOOD GO TOO

More recently, Northern England has been deprived of two of its longest-established major dealerships, as generational shift collided with chosen development paths and inheritance obstacles.

Following the death in 2015 of hugelyrespected Colin Appleyard, founder of the wildly successful Appleyard multi-franchise motorcycle and car dealer chain centred on the Yorkshire town of Keighley, his business empire passed to equally well-known son Robin Appleyard. But following a careful review of its future, Robin eventually sold the motorcycle retail sites and franchises to MotoGB six years later, to concentrate on cars. However, he did continue running the Appleyard Yamaha British Supersport bike racing team – dear to both his and his father’s hearts – for another season, before severing this final two-wheeled connection last autumn.

Poignantly, Colin Appleyard had entered the trade in 1951 as an apprentice mechanic at Allan Jefferies Motorcycles in nearby Shipley, rising to sales manager before setting up on his own in opposition 20 years later. Thirdgeneration Allan Jefferies owner Tony Jefferies sadly died in December 2021. Embittered by the loss of his son David, killed in a controversial practice accident at the 2003 Isle of Man TT, Tony had increasingly relied on hands-on management from his daughter Louise, as they together elevated the business into BMW Motorrad’s largest UK dealership and one of the most successful in Europe.

Louise Jefferies, left as “last man standing” with no real prospect of familial continuation, decided to sell, ending a 120-year trade pedigree in October 2022. The new proprietor, Vertu Motors, immediately abandoned Allan Jefferies branding and the company’s showrooms in Shipley and Rotherham became Vertu BMW Motorrad outlets, joining an existing Vertu BMW Motorrad operation in Sunderland and a trio of Vertu Honda motorcycle retailing presences.

THE BIG LEAGUE IS BACK

Without the dubious baggage of previous biking dealer-chain incarnations, Vertu Motors and Completely Motorbikes parent Completely Motoring Group are firmly rooted in the wider world of automotive retailing. These are properly capitalised corporate entities holding cash in the bank and no need to rely on concealed debt mountains for growth.

Vertu, which has more than 160 car dealerships nationwide, financed its £4.2m Allan Jefferies acquisition from existing cash resources. It has a London Stock Exchange listing and market-cap presently riding around the £170m mark, with an enterprise value of about £235m. Completely Motoring has been coining it from large-scale new and used car sales across the Midlands for years.

They signify a fresh wave of input for the motorcycle trade, armed with the sort of professionalism often sorely missed in our arena. Corner-shop mentalities just don’t figure anymore. 

A snapshot of share performance across key manufacturers and markets

India’s three largest indigenous motorcycle producers, a common bellwether for investor confidence (or lack of it), all lost value in response

CHINA – BACK IN BUSINESS

China’s sudden move to ease stringent Covid lockdown requirements and get its industrial heartland back to work drew widespread applause. Market indices certainly hailed approval. Shanghai’s SSE Composite put on 1.6% and the blue-chip CSI 300 climbed by 3.3%. The Beijing government also helped by relaxing some corporate lending controls to further promote economic recovery.

However, these policy shifts weren’t immediately rewarded by raised sentiment for bike industry prospects. A minority of manufacturers benefited from improved share prices. www.britishdealernews.co.uk

Price Week Month

USA (dollar) Harley-Davidson 45.15 -5.2% -6.4% Polaris Industries 105.07 -9.9% -9.0% Textron 71.71 +0.6% +1.2% Ideanomics (Energica) 0.206 -12.0% -20.8% Niu Technologies 5.81 +36.4% +80.4% LiveWire 5.80 -15.7% -11.5% Europe (euro) BMW 84.54 -0.7% +0.4% Volkswagen 177.70 -3.3% -6.7% Pierer Mobility 63.00 -2.3% -6.0% Piaggio Group 2.90 -0.7% +3.9% India (rupee) Hero MotoCorp 2751.50 -2.4% +3.1% Bajaj Auto 3616.95 -1.2% -3.0% TVS Motor 1036.15 -1.2% -6.4% Eicher Motors 3358.20 +0.8% -4.6% Mahindra 1265.40 +0.1% -1.7% Share performance as of 9 December 2022

Japan (yen) Honda Yamaha Suzuki Kawasaki Price Week Month

3257 -0.5% -2.3% 3315 +0.9% -4.3% 4662 -2.5% -10.1% 3005 +6.1% +5.0%

China (yuan) Qianjiang Zongshen Sundiro CETC (Jialing) Lifan 19.95 -5.9% -10.3% 6.35 -2.5% -1.2% 2.45 -1.2% -0.4% 15.39 +4.1% +7.6% 4.22 -0.9% -6.4%

Loncin

5.03 -3.5% -14.0% Linhai 10.46 +4.1% +13.1% Guangzhou Auto 12.10 +0.8% +0.3% CFMoto 116.62 -8.6% -16.1% Xinri E-Vehicle 19.53 -4.3% -8.3% China (HK dollar) Jianshe 5.06 +0.4% -0.6%