Tampa Bay Buccaneers co-owner Ed Glazer invests in high-end automobiles

“For an individual who was by no means within the automotive enterprise, to me this was excellent,” Glazer, US Auto Belief’s CEO, informed Automotive Information. “It is not a really large dealership with a model that I really like. And so we purchased that.”

Glazer, 53, mentioned it did not take lengthy for him to appreciate he loved auto retail and to search out similarities to the sports activities enterprise.

“What was fascinating to me was the enterprise wasn’t that totally different than the sports activities enterprise,” he mentioned. “You are coping with excessive stage [customers], whether or not you are promoting a luxurious suite to a sports activities fan, or a $300,000 sports activities automotive to a shopper.”

Nonetheless, Glazer identified that the character of the sports activities enterprise permits for just a little reprieve as soon as the season ends. Not so for automotive retail, he mentioned.

“Within the sports activities enterprise, there is a season, the season ends, you usually have six months to regroup, give you a plan,” he mentioned. “The auto enterprise is simply … boy, oh boy, I imply, you simply do not get a time without work for those who’re within the dealership enterprise.”

Glazer, primarily based in Los Angeles, is co-chairman of the Buccaneers, which can be owned by different members of his household. The Glazer household owns English soccer big Manchester United of the Premier League and Glazer is on its board of administrators. In November, the Glazer household mentioned they have been contemplating promoting Manchester United, amongst different choices, as they discover strategic options.

Past US Auto Belief and his household’s sports activities companies, Glazer is founding father of US Property Belief, a industrial actual property firm that owns and operates buying facilities in California, Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia.

In lower than 5 years, Glazer has grown US Auto Belief to eight dealerships, all in California.

From Newport Seashore, US Auto Belief went south to San Diego, shopping for one other Aston Martin dealership in 2019. Aston Martin has 35 U.S. dealerships, in response to the Automotive Information annual dealership census. US Auto Belief added a Jaguar-Land Rover retailer in Newport Seashore that yr.

In 2021, it purchased a Jaguar-Land Rover dealership in San Jose and a standalone Land Rover retailer in Pasadena. After which final yr, US Auto Belief purchased a Cadillac dealership, a Hyundai-Genesis retailer and one other Jaguar-Land Rover dealership, all in Southern California.

Glazer, vendor principal for every dealership and the only proprietor, mentioned he is a hands-on operator and frequents his shops typically.

Glazer works alongside Matt Kaiser, the group’s president. The pair have labored collectively for greater than 20 years, Glazer mentioned.

“He and I work on actually rising the corporate,” Glazer mentioned. “That is what we deal with is acquisitions.”