US Auto Trust, a fast-growing dealership group led by Edward Glazer, an owner of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has purchased four California stores in four separate transactions since December, including two in the third quarter.

US Auto Trust on Aug. 2 bought Jaguar-Land Rover Los Angeles from Triunity Automotive Group. US Auto Trust is keeping the dealership’s name, according to Matt Kaiser, the group’s president.

It marks the group’s third Jaguar-Land Rover dealership, and US Auto Trust has doubled its store count over the past eight months.

Triunity had owned the store for a little over a year and a half, having bought it in January 2021 from Pendragon, a public dealership group in the United Kingdom. Pendragon completed a multiyear divestiture of its U.S. dealerships in 2021.

Triunity in May 2021 relocated the Jaguar-Land Rover dealership from nearby West Hollywood, Calif., to a 100,000-square-foot building in Los Angeles.

Presidio Group, an investment banking and dealership advisory company in Denver and Atlanta, represented Triunity in the sale to US Auto Trust.

In July, US Auto Trust bought its first mass-market dealership, a Hyundai store in Glendale that included a Genesis luxury franchise. Glendale is north of Los Angeles.

The group bought Hyundai-Genesis of Glendale from John Hurry on July 11, according to Kaiser. The dealership name remains.

“We are thrilled to add Hyundai to our growing portfolio,” Glazer, US Auto Group’s CEO, said in a statement. “Hyundai has an incredible lineup and is well positioned for the electric future. Hyundai of Glendale will also undergo a complete renovation to better serve our customers.”

Kaiser, in an email to Automotive News, noted that the group, in addition to building a new Hyundai facility, eventually will relocate the Genesis franchise.

Brady Schmidt, CEO of buy-sell firm National Business Brokers in Irvine, Calif., along with co-CEO Gary Mull, represented Hurry in that transaction.

Pasadena acquisitions
This year, US Auto Trust bought its first domestic dealership. The group on March 21 purchased Symes Cadillac in Pasadena from John Symes, Kaiser confirmed. The dealership was renamed Cadillac Pasadena.

The Cadillac acquisition followed US Auto Trust’s purchase of Land Rover Pasadena, also from Symes, on Dec. 16, Kaiser said. US Auto kept that dealership’s name.

Kaiser said the group will renovate both Pasadena facilities “into prototype stores for the brands.”

Acquisition mode
US Auto Trust was founded in 2018 by Glazer and is based in Los Angeles. Glazer is an owner and co-chairman of the Buccaneers. The Glazer family also owns English soccer giant Manchester United.

In March 2021, the group bought Jaguar-Land Rover Stevens Creek in San Jose, Calif., from Qvale Auto Group. That dealership was renamed Jaguar-Land Rover San Jose and will be renovated in the coming months, Kaiser said.

US Auto Trust also owns Aston Martin and Jaguar-Land Rover dealerships in Newport Beach, Calif., plus Aston Martin San Diego.

Kaiser said US Auto is in acquisition mode, and though its focus has been on high-end luxury automotive, “we are open to all brands going forward.”

He also said US Auto Trust is on pace to reach $1 billion in annual revenue by the end of 2022.

In addition to its acquisitions, the group was awarded open points for Genesis dealerships in Newport Beach and Pasadena, Kaiser said, which the group anticipates to open by the end of 2023.