Rygor Announces Management Buyout: John Keogh and Rish Channa become new owners of Rygor Commercials

Rygor Group Ltd., which includes award-winning Mercedes-Benz dealer, Rygor Commercials and newly launched Rygor MAXUS, has this week announced that it has undergone a management buyout.

The well-respected Dealer group has been bought by John Keogh, who was previously Rygor’s sales director and Rish Channa, previously head of truck sales at Rygor. As of Wednesday 9 November, 2022, Keogh has become Rygor’s managing director, with Channa being named commercial director.

Commenting on the MBO, Keogh said: “As you can imagine, this is an extremely exciting time for us and the future of Rygor Group Ltd. We love the Rygor business and both Rish and I have been working within it for more than a decade. Being able to say that we are now joint owners of the company, is a really special moment for us.

“We have a fantastic team here at Rygor, an award-winning team, and our focus over the past few years has continued to centre on their progression, wellbeing and building a positive company culture.  We were thrilled to become Great Place to Work certified in 2022, as well as standing out for our employee engagement, as overall at the Institute of Internal Communications Awards. This continues to be a key objective for the Rygor business. Over the past year we have implemented a new appraisal process, an enhanced apprentice programme and an incredible wellbeing programme. It is our team members who make us strong and successful, and we are greatly looking forward to working with them as Rygor continues to lead the way. We will also be focusing on building a more sustainable and greener future for the business and working with brands on electric vehicles will be key to this.”

In June 2022, Rygor announced that it had started works on the build of a new, custom-designed dealership at the Worton Grange industrial park in Reading. The brand-new Mercedes-Benz Truck and Van centre is due to open officially in the next few weeks.

Commenting on the investment, Channa said: “It’s a big year for the Rygor business, and this investment demonstrates our commitment to continually investing in our facilities for the benefit of our customers and our incredible team. We know our team comes to work to feel valued and engaged and a fantastic working environment is a significant part of that. Our new Reading branch, which is conveniently located just a mile down the road from our existing Reading site, comprises nearly 44,000 sq. ft of space. It will allow us to offer enhanced services to our customers in the area, and our brilliant team at our current site will be moving over to the new Dealership, so our customers can rely on the exceptional service they know and depend on.

“We have an incredibly loyal customer base at Rygor, and we look forward to continuing to work with them in our new roles as owners of the business, as well as welcoming new customers to the Rygor business as well,” Channa added.

Keogh and Channa will be joined on the Rygor Board, by group finance director Tim Smith (previously Rygor’s finance director) and aftersales director, Sean Joyce (previously Rygor’s service director). Both Smith and Joyce became directors of Rygor at the beginning of 2021, having progressed through the Rygor business into these positions, and both have been integral in the success of the company over the past 18 months.

“Our board here at Rygor will continue to be made up of individuals who know and love the Rygor business and the brands that we work with. Sean and Tim are incredible, inspiring leaders and I am delighted that they will continue to be an integral part of the running of the Rygor business. Of course, Rish and I are excited and proud to be the new owners of Rygor, but we both know that it is bigger than just us. It takes an incredible team to make a successful company and we know we have that in our Rygor team members and our colleagues on the Board. We have learnt a lot over the years from Tim (Stacey), Paul (Reed) and Graham (Drake) who have been incredible owners of the Rygor business. We feel privileged to take the reins from them and look forward to following in their footsteps as people who drive the company forward.

“Our team know us, and we know them, and together, we will continue to be an awarding-winning business which Set Standards, by being Rewarding, Reliable and Respectful,” Keogh added.

Throughout the MBO process, the following businesses were involved in advising Rygor’s former owner-directors: RWK Goodman, and Deloitte UK.

Source: UK Haulier - Rygor Announces Management Buyout: John Keogh and Rish Channa become new owners of Rygor Commercials