Chris Gempton, CPA is a Senior Vice President at Kerrigan Advisors. Chris joined the firm in 2024, opening Kerrigan Advisors’ Florida office in Central Miami bringing nearly two decades of automotive retail industry experience to the firm. At Kerrigan Advisors, Chris works with the firm’s sell-side clients throughout the transaction management process, including preparations in advance of going to market, identification of potential buyers, deal negotiations, due diligence and closing assistance.
Prior to joining Kerrigan Advisors, Chris spent 13 years at AutoNation (NYSE: AN), where he most recently held the position of Vice President of Corporate Development and led all acquisitions and divestitures for the company. During his tenure, he oversaw nearly $3 billion in transactions across 130+ dealerships representing more than $5 billion in revenue. Prior to AutoNation, Gempton began his career as a CPA serving the auto retail industry for MBAF (acquired by BDO) and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Chris Gempton is a graduate of Cardiff University with a degree in Business Administration and holds a graduate certificate in Accounting from Florida International University’s College of Business. He is a Vermont Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Chris resides in Miami with his wife and two children.
Kerrigan Advisors is the leading sell-side advisor and thought partner to auto dealers nationwide. Since its founding in 2014, the firm has led the industry with the sale of over 275 dealerships representing $9 billion in client proceeds, including the third largest transaction in auto retail history – the sale of Jim Koons Automotive Companies to Asbury Automotive Group. The firm advises the industry’s leading dealership groups, enhancing value through the lifecycle of growing, operating and, when the time is right, selling their businesses. Led by a team of veteran industry experts with backgrounds in investment banking, private equity, accounting, finance and real estate, Kerrigan Advisors does not take listings, rather they develop a customized sales approach for each client to achieve their personal and financial goals. In addition to the firm’s sell-side advisory services, Kerrigan Advisors also provides a suite of consulting and investor services including growth strategy, market valuation assessments, capital allocation, transactional due diligence, open point proposals, operational improvement and real estate due diligence.
Kerrigan Advisors monitors conditions in the buy/sell market and publishes an in-depth analysis each quarter in The Blue Sky Report®, which includes Kerrigan Advisors’ signature blue sky charts, multiples, and analysis for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments. To download a preview of the report, click here. The firm also releases monthly The Kerrigan Index™ composed of the seven publicly traded auto retail companies with operations focused on the US market. The Kerrigan Auto Retail Index is designed to track dealership valuation trends, while also providing key insights into factors influencing auto retail. To access The Kerrigan Index™, click here. To read the 2023 Kerrigan Dealer Survey, click here. To read the 2024 Kerrigan OEM Survey, click here. Kerrigan Advisors also is the co-author of NADA’s Guide to Buying and Selling a Dealership.
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