Founder & President: David R. Melton

I am an automotive dealership M&A advisor and dealership broker with more than 40 years of firsthand experience in automotive retail — as a dealer operator, dealership COO, and principal investor in dealership real estate. I founded Melton Advisors to give dealer principals the kind of advisory they rarely get: direct access to someone who has made every decision they're now facing, from the inside.

My work centers on buy/sell advisory for dealer principals — representing buyers and sellers in dealership acquisitions, guiding valuation, structuring the transaction, and coordinating the real estate component alongside the business deal. I don't staff engagements down. When you work with Melton Advisors, you work with me directly, through every stage of the transaction.

Most dealership brokers approach the buy/sell as a listing exercise. I approach it as a business decision — with full visibility into how the real estate, the deal structure, and the transition terms affect the dealer's long-term position, not just the closing number.

My advisory work covers three integrated areas:

Buy/Sell Advisory: I advise dealer principals on both sides of dealership transactions — acquisitions and divestitures. That includes pre-transaction valuation, deal structuring, real estate separation or consolidation, and coordination with the dealer's CPA, legal counsel, and lender. Having operated and acquired dealerships myself, I understand what drives value in these businesses and where transactions typically break down.

Sale-Leasebacks & Build-to-Suit: Dealership real estate is often the most underleveraged asset on a dealer's balance sheet — and the most consequential to get right in a transaction. I partner directly with dealer principals as a real estate investor: acquiring and leaseback-structuring dealership properties, and funding build-to-suit development for dealers expanding their facilities. Whether the real estate is part of a larger M&A transaction or a standalone equity event, I bring both the advisory perspective and the capital to the table.

Capital Advisory: For dealers recapitalizing, acquiring, or restructuring ahead of a transaction, I help evaluate options, model the capital stack, and identify the right structure for the dealer's goals — before any commitment is made.

I partner closely with each dealer's CPA, legal counsel, lenders, and OEM relationships to prepare well in advance of any transaction. The result is greater strategic clarity, stronger negotiating position, and the ability for dealer principals to move — or hold — entirely on their own terms.

"Most dealers spend decades building something of real value. My job is to make sure that when the time comes to transact — buying, selling, or restructuring — they're advised by someone who understands what they built."

— David R. Melton, Founder & President, Melton Advisors