3.5 million cars traded and
back to a beautiful life in Australia
While Anthony Denny has lived in Australia for the past ten years, he has always been close to the AAA Auto dealership. Until the recent sale, he was a member of the supervisory board and held a minority stake of 22.9 percent.
Aures Holdings, which covers the AAA Auto and Mototechna brands, has had a new owner since mid-December: it was bought by the EP Equity Investment group, in which billionaire Daniel Křetínský combines his investments outside the energy sector. According to HN, the price ranged between 10 and 12 billion crowns.
Denny sees the sale as the right move at the right time. “It was an incredibly proud moment for the management and for me personally,” he said in an email interview with HN. “There are many potential synergies between Daniel Křetínský’s group and Aures Holdings, especially thanks to the opportunity to turn their huge fleet into a liquid and profitable asset. I believe this was one of the main motivating factors why Mr. Křetínský bought Aures Holdings. It is a very smart and strategic vision.”
The company and the used car market are now in good shape. Last year, the company sold a record 108,661 cars in five Central European countries. Last year, Aures Holdings’ sales increased by 11 percent to a record 31.2 billion crowns, and operating profit EBITDA rose to 1.7 billion crowns.
“The company is very well managed, highly profitable and generates healthy free cash flow. It has been using cutting-edge artificial intelligence to purchase vehicles and manage inventory since 2010. The foundation is set to double its turnover and profitability in the next three to five years,” say Denny.
He attributes AAA Auto’s position as the largest car dealership in Central Europe to “the work of a focused and dedicated team” and a focus on buying only highly sought-after cars. “The company has experienced so many fantastic milestone and successes, but I think the aspect I’m most proud of is the Australian-style corporate culture that still exists today. That’s why there are still hundreds of employees in the group who have been with us for over 20 years. Everyone gets along, smiles, and jokes are mandatory - if you’re doing your job.”
Thank you for your purchases says the founder of AAA Auto, Tony Denny.
When asked to chose one moment that sticks out in his mind from the AAA Auto era, 63-year-old Denny mentions former President Václav Havels visit to the Prague showroom in 2011. “He came on his own initiative shortly before he died, simply to have a beer with me and talk about my business and experiences in the Czech Republic,” says Denny.
Today, he lives near Sydney and owns Central Real Capital, a company that focuses on financial services and lending to developers. He used to the lend money to construction companies, but he stopped doing that because he said they “tend to default on their debts.” One such case was monitored by the Australia media, where a builder refused to pay Denny’s company a debt of 36 million Australian dollars.
He describes his life as idyllic. What he likes most about Australia is the weather and the positive attitude of the people. “I am lucky enough to live with my Czech wife of 29 years on a farm overlooking the ocean about 90 minutes north of Sydney. We live a charming, healthy and magical life. Both children have left home,” says Denny.
According to the latest edition of The Australian Financial Review, he is ranked 195th on the list of the richest Australians with an estimated fortune of 780 million Australian dollars (10.7 billion crowns). Ten years ago, he opened the Gosford Classic Car Museum, where he exhibited around 450 vintage and sports cars. The Czech Republic was represented in the form of an Aero 662 from 1932. The main attraction was the special machine Aussie Invader 3, which Rosco McGlashan tried to break the land speed record in 1996. He reached a speak of 1026 km/h, but his attempt was not recognised as regular.
Denny closed the museum in 2019 amid a protracted dispute with the Revenue Commissioner over whether the dealership was entitled to the same tax breaks as other motor vehicle dealers. Last year, the High Court ruled in his favour, and he began considering reopening the museum — likely on a more modest scale and in a different location. One option is the Black Rock Raceway Resort, about an hour and a half drive north of Sydney.
Denny, a botanist by training, moved to California in the early 1990s and then to Prague. He was drawn not only by the opportunity in an emerging market (he founded AAA Auto in 1992), but also by his family roots - his father was Czech, having emigrated to Australia in 1948. “The Czech Republic is without a doubt my second home. I love the country, the culture, and especially Prague. During the 23 years I lived there, I drew inspiration from my grandfather, Professor Vladimir Kubelka, and the incredible achievements he achieved in the Czech Republic during his career,” says Denny, who was born Antonin Kubelka.
In Prague, Denny and his wife build a luxury villa on a hillside above Troja Castle, which they tried to sell after moving to Australia. With an exorbitant price tag of 400 million crowns, it became a legendary real estate lager, which has only now found its buyer after a fifty percent discount. Denny does not want to reveal who bought the villa for 189 million crowns.
Even after selling AAA Auto and the Troy villas, Denny still has some ties to the Czech Republic. He is an investor in the Prague start-up ScaleVoice, which is run by former data scientist from AAA Auto. The latter is the start-up’s main customer, and it is also doing well in the UK and the US. ScaleVoice creates AI agents, i.e. conversational artificial intelligence, that help car dealerships and dealers automate communication with customers, for example, arranging dates for buybacks or service. AAA Auto says that thanks to this, only about four percent of calls end up with a real operator.
When asked what message Denny would send to Czech customers after closing his chapter at AAA Auto, he has a clear answer: “Thank you for your purchases. Given that we had a huge number of returning customers, we must have been doing something right.”
By Michael Mares
Published 29.12.2025
Hospodářské noviny