FAST-growing car dealership group Vertu Motors has bought three Honda dealerships in Newcastle, Sunderland Durham in a £3.7m deal.

It is buying the trade and assets of Springfield Cars’ Honda operations, which had a turnover of £29.2m in 2011 and made an operating profit before interest and tax of £0.3m.

The deal means Gateshead-based Vertu will become the UK’s biggest operator of Honda dealerships.

The group, which has 89 outlets across the UK mainly trading as Bristol Street Motors, said that due to the timing of the acquisition, the new dealerships are expected to make a small loss in the three months to the end of the group's current financial year.

Vertu CEO Robert Forrester said: “We are pleased to have acquired these Honda dealerships in the North East. We will integrate these new sites into our existing portfolio of Honda dealerships which is already well established in the East Midlands and Yorkshire, with a strong operational management team.”