Legacy Automotive Capital (LEGACY) recently partnered with McGovern Automotive, a Top 150 Group, to acquire a portfolio of assets in Massachusetts (Hyundai Brockton, Leominster and a Collision Center in Shrewsbury). The portfolio adds to Legacy’s growing New England portfolio.
Contact Todd Marcelle at todd@legacyautocapital.com to receive a free assessment of your real estate.
If you own your dealership real estate, you may be sitting on untapped capital. A sale-leaseback allows you to unlock that equity—without moving or disrupting your business.
At Legacy Automotive Capital, we work with successful operators like you to turn owned property into a source of growth. Whether you’re looking to expand, pay down debt, or increase liquidity, we can structure a seamless transaction that supports your goals.
✅ Keep control of your location
✅ Unlock immediate capital
✅ Preserve your operating flexibility
Let’s explore how your property can work harder for your business – 610-304-9347 or austin@legacyautocapital.com.
Dealers may stay in their real estate for generations, but their loans do not. The average commercial property loan is 5-7 years. Every 5-7 years a car dealer is facing current interest rates and LTV’s.
Example Scenario:
Solution:
Succession planning is crucial for car dealers, but accessing capital without disrupting operations can be challenging. A sale leaseback strategy unlocks real estate equity, providing liquidity to fund ownership transitions while retaining control of the dealership.
This approach ensures a smooth succession, preserves working capital, and offers financial flexibility without restrictive covenants. In today’s high-cost market, leveraging real estate assets can be a game-changer for securing your dealership’s future.
Tesla has the fastest growing retail footprint among automotive retails nationwide with 237 stores and showrooms nationwide, 192 of which are stand alone service centers.
Tesla’s growth has been fueled by a focus on where they see the highest return on capital: operating an automotive business, not owning real estate.
Tesla’s continue embrace of the sale-leaseback and preferred developer program for their real estate has allowed them to accelerate their growth while maintaining a higher cash balance.
Franchised new car dealers prioritize business operations but overlook the importance of a dealership real estate strategy. In today’s high-cost buy/sell market, Sale Leaseback Strategies offer a smart way to boost financial flexibility and fuel growth.
‘Real Estate Blue Sky’ is a term coined by Legacy Automotive Capital (LAC) to describe the intangible value that a New Car dealership property holds in addition to its physical attributes or based on the comparable sales of similar properties typically used in the appraisal process. New Car dealership properties are unique in that the true value of the real estate comes from various sources beyond the physical appraisal such as the “Shadow Credit” of the Brand, the value of the “goodwill”, and the pedigree/financial stability of the operator. These factors are widely ignored by the broader marketplace in Buy/Sell transactions resulting in New Car dealership real estate trading on average for far less than it is worth.
This hidden value that many dealers are leaving on the table today is what Legacy calls Real Estate Blue Sky.
In a Buy/Sell or a sale leaseback transaction the rental income that is paid by New Car dealers is often discounted or undervalued because of the arm’s length relationship that exists between the Operating company (The Dealer – OP Co) and the real estate entity (Prop Co) to which rent is paid. Legacy believes that this tenancy should be valued as is the custom in all other commercial real estate verticals. Furthermore, dealership tenancy is “sticky”, long-term and “no-touch” and in no way should be discounted or undervalued. In fact, Legacy believes that New Car dealer tenancy is buoyed by the franchise system, the backing of the OEMs, the adherence to brand standards and oversight of the captives and is some of the most valuable tenancy available in any marketplace.
This is why no one pays more than Legacy does for New Car Dealership real estate.
LEGACY AUTO CAPITAL + REAL ESTATE BLUE SKY = MAXIMUM VALUE FOR NEW CAR DEALERSHIP REAL ESTATE.
Dealers can unlock trapped equity with Legacy Automotive Capital’s specialty financing programs, providing them access to funds to use for growth, renovation, or expansion.
Differing valuation perspectives by their Appraisers
1) Income Approach vs. Owner-Occupant Valuation:
2) Appraisers Incorrectly Compare Property Types:
3) New Car Volume
4) Brand Value
5) Image Compliance
Despite challenging capital markets for both debt and equity, Legacy Automotive Capital continues to expand into new states in 2025. With buy sell capital and construction debt becoming harder to secure, our net lease and construction capital programs are proving more valuable than ever for developers and operators.
We’re proud to announce the successful closing of our first new construction project, a testament to our team’s dedication and our commitment to supporting growth in this challenging environment.
Contact Todd Marcelle at todd@legacyautocapital.com or Austin Wolfington at austin@legacyautocapital.com to learn more.
Legacy Automotive Capital (LEGACY) is pleased to announce two AutoNation acquisitions – AutoNation Honda Property of Chandler, Arizona and AutoNation Hyundai Property of Tempe, Arizona.
Contact Todd Marcelle at todd@legacyautocapital.com to receive a free assessment of your real estate.
