Crash Champions is Merging with Service King

After months of speculation about the future of Service King, a blockbuster merger was announced to Service King managers last Friday. The two consolidators will merge and create a 550+ shop operation with upwards of $2 billion in annualized sales.  While still smaller than Gerber and far behind Caliber, this new entity will be competing … Read more

State of Play in the Collision Industry July 2022

David Roberts, Managing Director of Focus Advisors (focusadvisors.com), comments on the many acquisitions and openings in the first half of 2022.  Originally a co-founder of Caliber Collision, Roberts has led multiple MSO and paint distribution transactions including last year’s sale of Quanz Auto Body to Crash Champions.  He can be contacted at [email protected], 510-444-1173. State of … Read more

Breathless: A Review of Collision Repair Acquisitions in 2021

Consolidation in 2020

With 2021 now in the rearview mirror, the industry is catching its breath after a year of sprinting that saw extraordinary acquisition activity.

Headwinds and Tailwinds

While repair demand has never been higher for most well positioned providers, technician shortages have never been worse. Parts costs are rising rapidly and cycle times are growing longer. Revenues and profits have been slow to recover for most collision repairers – whether large or small.

Planning Ahead by Looking Back

Article by David Roberts featured in FenderBender’s October 2021 issue Remember Labor Day 2016 – five years ago? The recession was in the rear-view mirror. Business was thriving. Miles driven were increasing. New car sales were breaking records. State Farm had more than 18% market share. Paint loans were readily available for growing shops. Exit … Read more

Focus Advisors Represents a 2-shop MSO in its sale to an Undisclosed Buyer

October 1, 2021 – Focus Advisors, the leading M&A firm specializing in collision repair transactions, is proud to announce the sale of two shops to an undisclosed buyer. Kurt and Kathy Johnson, co-owners of the MSO in Puyallup and 30-year industry veterans, built their highly successful MSO 30 miles south of Seattle.  Co-owner Kathy Johnson … Read more

Focus Advisors Represents the Parsons/Middleton 8-shop MSO in its sale to an Undisclosed Buyer

October 1, 2021 – Focus Advisors, the leading M&A firm specializing in collision repair transactions, is proud to announce the sale of eight shops to an undisclosed buyer. Owners Jeff Middleton and Kevin Parsons operated their eight shops as an MSO with key locations along the I5 corridor in the Seattle WA region.   David Roberts, … Read more

Observations on Collision Works’ Sale to Gerber

Gerber’s recent acquisition of Collision Works (CW) is the largest acquisition of an independent MSO in the last three years. Combined with the acquisition of John Harris Body Shops in South Carolina, we estimate Gerber has added nearly 10% to its overall revenues with these two large acquisitions. These two acquisitions by Gerber reflects the … Read more

Focus Advisors Industry Observations: The Rise of Amazon and How it Impacts the Collision Repair Industry

How much attention do you pay to those ever-present gray vans emblazoned with the Amazon logo? Did you ever stop to think who owns them? And who repairs them? The prevalence of smartphones and quick internet connections has completely and permanently changed the consumer landscape. Among these changes, Amazon has risen to become a firmly … Read more