Vertu continue takeover with drive into Scottish market

VERTU Motors, the listed car dealership group, has continued its drive into the Scottish market with the seventh takeover swoop this year.

The firm - launched as a cash shell in December 2006 and now the eighth largest UK motor retailer - is buying the Dunfermline-based Peugeot business of Hardie Motor Group.

While accounts for the dealership reveal a turnover of 3.5 million and a small operating profit in 2009, Vertu said the deal was not expected to cost it more than 300,000.

It marks Gateshead-based Vertu's second acquisition in the Fife town, having taken over Dunfermline Auto Centre, a major Ford supplier, at the start of the year.

In May, the group said it planned to buy up to ten showrooms in Scotland over three years as it posted forecast-beating profits. It has already launched the Macklin Motors brand north of the Border.

Unveiling the latest acquisition, Vertu chief executive Robert Forrester said: "We are delighted to expand further with Peugeot, which we believe is very well positioned with its exciting and expanding product range."

Vertu, which bought Bristol Street Motors, at the time the UK's 13th-largest car dealer, in March 2007, also runs two other Ford showrooms in Scotland, as well as a pair of Mazda outlets.

It acquired Johnston of Renfrewshire, which runs a Peugeot franchise on the outskirts of Paisley, in April this year.

The Macklin Motors arm will face stiff opposition from established Scottish heavyweights such as Eastern Western, Arnold Clark and Belmont-owner John Martin.

Indigenous dealerships Phoenix Car Company and Peter Vardy have also been hitting the acquisition trail in recent years.