Vertu gears up for Scottish expansion with Nissan outlet

Vertu Motors, the Aim-quoted car dealership, plans to expand its Scottish presence with a Nissan outlet near Glasgow that will also mark its move into electric vehicles.

The firm, which trades under the Macklin Motors brand north of the Border, yesterday reported a 22 per cent rise in revenues to 998.9 million in the year to 28 February, as it continued its strategy of fast acquisitive expansion.

Chief executive Robert Forrester said the new Nissan dealership would open on 1 July and employ about 25 people. He said the company was investing 2.3m in the start-up operation, including the purchase of an old paint factory site adjacent to the group's Ford and Mazda operations where it will be based.

"As the business ramps up, there will be more and more jobs created at that site. It's going to be a major hub for us," he told The Scotsman.

Vertu already has eight sales outlets in Scotland having added seven in the year.

The company, which launched as a cash shell in December 2006 and is now the eighth-largest UK motor retailer with 77 outlets, plans to start selling electric cars this year, including the Nissan Leaf at the Glasgow dealership. It grew like-for-like sales of new cars by 1.2 per cent in its last financial year despite a UK-wide decline in private registrations. The group noted that above- inflation increases in fuel and insurance have pushed customers towards cars with low running costs.

Vertu said trading performance in March and April had been "ahead of the board's expectations". New car retail like-for-like volumes were down 10.4 per cent, but that was again better than the wider market.

Forrester said an emphasis on staff training allowed it to turn round the performance of the dealerships it acquired, and out-sell its competitors. Vertu recommended a final dividend of 0.3p per share, taking the total for the year to 0.5p.