Friendship Group Acquires Three Dealerships

Friendship Family of Dealerships has expanded with the purchase of three West Virginia dealerships.

On March 30, LMP sold Hometown Subaru and Hometown Kia, both in Mt. Hope, West Virginia, to the Friendship group of Bristol, Tenn., Mitch Walters, the group's president, told Automotive News.

Friendship renamed the two dealerships, which are next to each other, Friendship Subaru of Beckley and Friendship Kia of Beckley.

LMP had owned 85% stakes in the stores since March 2021, when the company purchased the Kia store, a nearby Chevrolet dealership, and a Buick-GMC from Ernie and Lori Davis. LMP also purchased the Subaru dealership from the Davises in May 2021.

Friendship Family of Dealerships' acquisition of the Subaru and Kia dealerships follows the group’s purchase of Hyundai of Beckley, which it renamed Friendship Hyundai of Beckley, from Ernie Davis and Lori Davis, in February. LMP was once slated to buy that store, but the deal was terminated.

The purchase of Hyundai of Beckley marked Friendship’s first acquisition since it purchased a Hyundai dealership in Princeton, West Virginia, in April 2022.  

"It made sense for us to do that," Walters reported of the Beckley purchase. "It's in the same TV market, so now when we advertise on TV, one spot hits all. That makes it really good for us to have both Hyundai stores in the same TV market and that close together."

According to Walters, the group does not have any additional acquisitions under contract but is always looking for new opportunities.

"We're not really a big metro market guy, and we don't want to get some micro, small location in the middle of nowhere either," Walters told Automotive News. "We're kind of the middle-market guy. If we can find those, we're excited about doing some good growth."