THE owner of the Evans Halshaw and Stratstone car dealerships launched a £75m cash call yesterday in a bid to tackle its debt and secure its finances.

The Nottingham-based Pendragon, which sells marques such as Ford, Fiat and Vauxhall from more than 300 sites, will raise the funds through the issue of new shares.

Pendragon must secure the multimillion-pound fundraising as a condition of its banks agreeing to a new three-year financing deal.

The announcement came as Pendragon reported underlying pre-tax profits for the five months to May 31 of £9m – £1.1m higher than the previous year.

Pendragon, which bought Wearside dealership chain Vardy for £506m in 2006, said the fundraising will help the company reduce its debt to around £360m, as well as allow it to proceed with a plan to eliminate its £40m pension deficit.

The group’s borrowing facilities will be extended to June 2014 if the rights issue goes ahead.

The company, which earlier this year withheld its full-year dividend to reduce debt, now plans to resume dividends from its financial year 2012. Pendragon chairman Mike Davies said the announcement marked “an important step in the evolution of Pendragon”.