Transaction highlights desirability of single point luxury, import franchises in middle market locations such as Fresno; Transaction marks Kerrigan Advisors’ 52^nd top luxury franchise sold

Kerrigan Advisors, the premier sell-side advisor and thought partner to auto dealers nationwide, represented Fresno, California-based Haron Motor Sales in the sale of Haron Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo to Temecula, California-based Unstoppable Auto Group, owned by Garth Blumenthal. Unstoppable is now comprised of nine new car dealerships across California. Since the firm’s founding, Kerrigan Advisors has sold over 225 dealerships and 52 top luxury franchises. In 2023 alone, the firm is on track to sell more than 70 franchises representing $2.6 billion in client proceeds, making Kerrigan Advisors the leading sell-side advisor in auto retail.

“It was our pleasure to assist the Haron family in this historic transition of the family business to new ownership. The Harons have been pillars of the downtown Fresno business community for generations,” said Ryan Kerrigan, Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors. “With the sale to Unstoppable Auto Group, the dealership remains in the hands of private owners who are deeply invested in the Fresno market.”

Since 1945, three generations of the family have owned and operated the Haron dealership downtown. Founded by Charles Haron, Charles’ nickname of “Haron the Baron, the Sports Car King of the Valley,” quickly became famous in Fresno — as did his affinity for British performance cars. What started as Triumphs and MGs eventually turned into Jaguars in 1981, then evolved to Land Rover and Volvo. A fixture of the Fresno community for 78 years, Haron Motor Sales is known for its excellence in sales and service and boasts high customer service and employee relations.

“The dealership is family. Working at the dealerships is something that we all grew up doing, and how we built our lives,” said Jim Haron, Co-Owner of Haron Motor Sales. “The decision to sell was a difficult one for us. So, when we decided to sell, we wanted to be really careful and very strategic, which is why we selected Kerrigan Advisors who delivered a highly customized sale process to achieve our personal and strategic goals in the transaction.”

The Haron family’s community reputation was built on their strong advocacy of Fresno, in particular Downtown Fresno. As the former Chairwoman of the Board of Directors for The Downtown Fresno Partnership, Co-Owner Hilary Haron directed the organization that revitalized downtown Fresno.

“After so many decades, and so many generations, we knew we were offering a highly valued dealership with a long legacy,” said Hilary Haron. “We wanted to find a buyer who would do well by our community and the legacy of our dealership. Kerrigan Advisors knew exactly how to identify that buyer, one that was right not only for us, but also for our customers, our employees and for Fresno.”

Hilary Haron was recently honored as an Automotive News 40 Under 40 Honoree, a member of the California New Car Dealers Association’s board of directors (CNCDA) since January 2019, and a Director At-Large West on the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Board.

Said Randy Haron, Co-Owner of Haron Motor Sales: “Our highest priority in this transition was to ensure that the dealership continued to provide the stellar customer service that our name has always stood for. With Unstoppable Auto Group, we found a new owner with a track record of service excellence, and we thank Kerrigan Advisors for helping us achieve this key goal. They were instrumental to the sale process, from preparation, identification of strong buyers, marketing, negotiation, manufacturer approval and ultimately, closing. We could not have done this without them.”

Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo are favorably positioned in the current market, especially given their attractive SUV lineups: Land Rover as an exclusive SUV/truck brand and Volvo with a growing share of SUV sales. In addition, Fresno has become a strong luxury new car market, with a market share of 25%, significantly higher than California and US. In addition, since 2000, Fresno’s population has grown an impressive 26% and the area now ranks the 7^th largest in the state. By 2060, the area’s population is expected to surpass 1.27 million.

“This transaction reflects the high demand for luxury brands in the dealership buy/sell market, especially when represented by a single point in a sizeable, growing market such as Fresno,” said Erin Kerrigan, Founder and Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors. “We are proud to have helped the Haron family achieve their goals for this transaction and are happy to have found a buyer who will continue the Haron family’s legacy of excellence in the Fresno community.”

About Kerrigan Advisors

Kerrigan Advisors is the leading sell-side advisor and thought partner to auto dealers nationwide. Since its founding in 2014, the firm has led the industry with the sale of over 225 dealerships representing more than $7 billion in client proceeds, including the third largest transaction in auto retail history – the sale of Jim Koons Automotive Companies to Asbury Automotive Group. The firm advises the industry’s leading dealership groups, enhancing value through the lifecycle of growing, operating and, when the time is right, selling their businesses. Led by a team of veteran industry experts with backgrounds in investment banking, private equity, accounting, finance and real estate, Kerrigan Advisors does not take listings, rather they develop a customized sales approach for each client to achieve their personal and financial goals. In addition to the firm’s sell-side advisory services, Kerrigan Advisors also provides a suite of consulting and investor services including growth strategy, market valuation assessments, capital allocation, transactional due diligence, open point proposals, operational improvement and real estate due diligence.

Kerrigan Advisors monitors conditions in the buy/sell market and publishes an in-depth analysis each quarter in The Blue Sky Report®, which includes Kerrigan Advisors’ signature blue sky charts, multiples, and analysis for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments. To download a preview of the report, click here. The firm also releases monthly The Kerrigan Index™ composed of the seven publicly traded auto retail companies with operations focused on the US market. The Kerrigan Auto Retail Index is designed to track dealership valuation trends, while also providing key insights into factors influencing auto retail. To access The Kerrigan Index™, click here. To read the 2022 Kerrigan Dealer Survey, click here. To read the 2023 Kerrigan OEM Survey, click here. Kerrigan Advisors also is the co-author of NADA’s Guide to Buying and Selling a Dealership.

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