Another multigenerational auto group family has sold its stores in a deal that adds to a fast-growing collection of Midwest dealerships.
The fourth generation of the Beardmore family sold the family’s namesake Chevrolet, Hyundai and Subarus dealerships to Morrie’s Automotive Group in a transaction brokered by sell-side adviser Kerrigan Advisors.
Carey Hamilton, whose great-grandfather, Maurice “Moe” Beardmore started the family business in 1919, had led the modern group with her husband, Brian, who represented Nebraska on the National Automobile Dealers Association board of directors for 15 years.
The dealerships have served Kansas and Nebraska over the decades, including Omaha for the past 60 years.
“It is bittersweet to transition a business that has been in our family for four generations,” Carey Hamilton said. “Honoring our family’s legacy and ensuring our employees and community were well served post-sale were incredibly important to us.”
It’s at least the second Midwest auto group in business for more than a century that sold outside its founding family this year. In late February, Eich Motor Co. sold its two Minnesota dealerships, also to a growing auto group.
In Nebraska, Morrie’s Automotive now has more than 30 dealerships in the Midwest after growing gradually since its origins in 1965. The Beardmore stores are its first in Nebraska. It replaced the Beardmore brand with Morrie's Bellevue for its own brand followed by the Omaha suburb they're in.