Vertu’s second dealership north of border

Apr 2 2010 by John Hill, The Journal

NORTH East motor retailer Vertu has signed a deal for its second Scottish dealership in three months.

The company, which was founded just over three years ago, has rubber-stamped its 16th acquisition in 12 months with a £2.1m deal for Johnston of Renfrewshire.

The deal puts a Peugeot dealership in Paisley under control of the UK’s ninth largest motor dealer. It now has more than 60 sales outlets in 51 UK locations.

Vertu Motors has been expanding at a rapid pace over the past year since raising a £30m acquisition fund in the City.

Chief executive Robert Forrester, who was a director of Reg Vardy before its sale to Pendragon in 2006, said: “It’s always been our intention to grow the company, to build a sizeable UK base.

“We were founded in December 2006 and bought our first dealership in 2007. In the teeth of the recession between summer 2008 and June 2009 we stopped buying and made sure we ran the business well.

“When we raised £30m in the City last year, we were one of the few companies to raise money for growth as opposed to paying back debts. We need to make sure we’re run in a sensible way, but we have no net debt and a strong balance sheet.”

Vertu ventured into Scotland for the first time in January, completing a £2.6m deal for the Dunfermline Autocentre.

Vertu employs more than 300 people in the North East, and will be consolidating its four sites in the area at a new 6,000sq ft location in Kingsway, Newcastle, in the next couple of months. The 60 staff in those locations, which include sites on the Quayside and at Newcastle Business Park, will all be moved to the new site.