The Motor Sector podcast

The Motor Sector podcast is a Zeus podcast, hosted by Mike Allen, Head of Research.

Zeus is an independent financial services group working across public and private capital markets in the UK.  We work alongside many of the most exciting businesses in the UK and we are passionate about supporting our clients.  This podcast is a series of interviews with interesting characters from the world of business and finance, uncovering a different perspective.

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In the last episode of this series of The Motor Sector podcast, Zeus’ Mike Allen talks to Robert Forrester, CEO of Vertu Motors.

Robert and a small group of colleagues founded Vertu Motors in 2006 to acquire and consolidate UK motor retail businesses. It is now the fifth largest automotive retailer in the UK employing 6000 people. Prior to this, Robert was a Director of Reg Vardy between 2001 and 2006, where he held the roles of Finance Director and Managing Director.

Robert and Mike discuss the impact of EV on the sector, the used car market, the agency model, OEMs and opportunities for the future.

In this episode of The Motor Sector podcast, Zeus’ Mike Allen talks to Owen Edwards, Automotive Expert at Grant Thornton.

Owen is part of the automotive advisory mergers and acquisitions team at Grant Thornton. He has a large range of experience in: Automotive distribution and retail, global composite, dashboard and KPI analysis, company and financial analysis, and strategic five-year planning.

Owen and Mike discussed Owen’s career and background, challenges for OEMs, supply chain and the EV market in 2023.

In this episode of The Motor Sector podcast, Zeus’ Mike Allen talks to Quentin Le Hetet, Country Director UK at GiPA.

Since 1986, GiPA has carried out market observations of the automotive parc, aftersales market and consumer behaviour across more than 30 European countries.

Quentin and Mike discussed what makes the UK a unique market in comparison to other European markets and key themes in the UK aftersales market for 2023.

In this episode of The Motor Sector podcast, Zeus’ Mike Allen talks to Bill Bexson, Director at Savills and expert in the UK automotive property market.

Bill established Automotive Property Consultancy (APC), a specialist property consultancy dedicated to the franchised motor retail sector in 2005. In January 2023, APC was acquired by Savills, forming a new automotive service line at Savills.

Bill and Mike discuss key themes in the UK automotive property sector for 2023.

Read the latest Motor Retail Market Commentary from Savills.

In this episode of The Motor Sector podcast, Zeus’ Mike Allen talks to Philip Nothard, Insight and Strategy Director at Cox Automotive.

Philip has over 35 years of experience in the automotive industry and has worked at various brands. He spent 10 years working at cap hpi and since then has specialised in analysing data to understand the sector.

Cox Automotive offers various solutions across the UK and Europe and was founded over 120 years ago. It has 40,000 clients globally in over 220 locations worldwide. They offer their clients defleeting, remarketing and retail operation services. This offers rich and interesting data.

Mike and Phil discuss Phil’s career to date, his Auto Focus Quarterly Insight Report and the new and used car markets in 2023.

In this episode of The Motor Sector podcast, Zeus’ Mike Allen talks to Steve Greenfield, Founder and CEO at Automotive Ventures.

Steve Greenfield has spent more than 20 years of his professional career in automotive industry leadership roles at organisations such as Manheim, AutoTrader.com, CarLingo TrueCar.

An expert in mergers, acquisitions, strategy and fundraising, Steve launched Automotive Ventures to provide the trusted resource he wished he had as an entrepreneur and investor.

Steve and Mike discussed Steve’s career to date and key themes and issues in the US automotive market.

In this episode of The Motor Sector podcast, Zeus’ Mike Allen talks to Jordan Brompton, Co-Founder and CMO of myenergi.

myenergi are at the forefront of British renewable eco smart technology innovation and manufacturing. Founded in 2016, their zappi product was the world’s first solar and wind compatible EV car charger.

Jordan and Mike discuss the history of myenergi, product verticals for the future and key themes in the UK EV automotive industry.

In this episode of The Motor Sector podcast, Zeus’ Mike Allen talks to Richard Hoggart, CEO at DSG Finance Group.

DSG Finance Group leading innovator in the UK automotive finance market, with a collection of forward-thinking brands. It’s a business with a great heritage, first-class people and strong values.

Richard and Mike discuss the history of DSG Finance Group and key themes in the automotive UK finance industry.

In this episode of The Motor Sector podcast, Zeus’ Mike Allen talks to Peter Smyth, Director of Swansway Group.

Swansway Group is a family-run business, with over 55 years in the motor trade. Peter gives Mike a history of the company, they discuss key themes in the industry today, electric vehicles and the outlook for the future.

In this episode of The Motor Sector podcast, Zeus’ Mike Allen talks to the US Automotive expert Glenn Mercer.

Glenn is a veteran auto expert, having worked for the Oil Industry, the CIA and Ex-McKinsey Partner with 35 years of experience. They discuss the differences between US and UK market focusing on US dealer performance, prospects and potential change factors in the industry.

Zeus’ Mike Allen caught up with Autotrader’s Commercial Director, Ian Plummer recently for a deep dive on Mike’s motor sector podcast. Ian discusses his background and career path in the automotive industry. They also discuss the key supply and demand dynamics in the sector and where Ian sees the market going in 2023.