CAR dealer Vertu Motors is on the hunt for further acquisitions after adding three more dealerships to its expanding portfolio.
The Gateshead-based group, which now trades from 81 outlets nationwide mainly under the Bristol Street Motors brand, bought two Ford dealerships in Durham and Hartlepool from Holiways at the end of June for £3.5m.
Vertu now has 22 Ford dealerships nationwide and a total of nine sales outlets in the North East.
It also paid £1.8m for its first Suzuki franchise, based in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, in a deal with Co-op Group Motors. The dealership is next to Vertu’s existing Honda site in Mansfield and it said a further franchise will be added on the site in the next few weeks.
Chairman Paul Williams said: “Investment in growth remains at the top of the board’s agenda, and the group has a strong pipeline of further acquisition opportunities.
“These potential transactions are likely to lead to a further expansion of the group’s number of sales outlets in the coming months.”
It has also opened a Ford commercial vehicle sales and aftersales service on the Bristol Street Commercials site in Swindon.
The new deals were revealed to shareholders at Vertu’s annual general meeting yesterday, where it also announced strong trading figures for the four months to the end of June despite the continued “challenging” and “volatile” economic climate.
