CAR dealership Vertu Motors has snapped up another UK site as it continues its expansion drive.

The Gateshead company released a trading update to announce it had picked up its fourth Nissan dealership, bringing its roster of outlets up to 83.

The Widnes Car Centre deal gives it control over a Cheshire dealership and a mobility vehicle conversion business in West Yorkshire.

The £3.2m deal includes the freehold on the Widnes dealership, and will see the mobility business trade under the Bristol Street Versa Mobility Solutions name.

Since raising funds in 2009, Vertu has increased its collection of dealerships from 59, and announced back in May that it expected to break the £1bn sales barrier during the financial year up to February 2012.

Its last annual results showed revenues were up 22% to £999m while profits rose by a fifth to £8.4m.

Chief executive Robert Forrester said: “The Widnes site will complement another site we have in Altrincham, and there will be some marketing synergies there.

“It’s a very nice dealership with a very loyal customer base, and it also features a business which converts vans into wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

“It’s an interesting business, and a completely new area for us.”

However, the company repeated warnings yesterday that the industry as a whole remains challenging and volatile, although it continued to trade in line with market expectations.

In a trading update in July, the company said profits and sales were down in the first four months of the new financial year.

Although it was performing better than budget, new car sales to private customers had fallen 6.6% on a like-for-like business, while used car volumes for those four months were down 5.8%.