Vertu buys Mansfield VW outlet

Vertu Motors Plc has secured the Chesterfield Road operation along with two dealerships in Nottingham as part of a £4.7m deal.

The dealership will operate under the Vertu Volkswagon brand with plans to expand and upgrade its showroom to sell more cars.

Robert Forrester, chief executive officer of Vertu Volkswagen said: “These dealerships in Nottingham and Mansfield have a great reputation for customer service and the colleagues based there have in-depth industry knowledge.

“By acquiring them we are further developing the Vertu Volkswagen presence in the East Midlands.

“This acquisition represents a great opportunity for the group to develop its relationship with Volkswagen and to represent the Volkswagen brand further in the East Midlands where Vertu Motors already represents several manufacturer partners including Citroen, Hyundai, Honda and Suzuki.”

The three dealerships - Mansfield and operations in Daybrook and West Bridgford, Nottingham - have been acquired from Brookside Limited. The businesses will add to Vertu’s existing Volkswagen dealerships in Boston and Lincoln.

Currently around 25 staff work at the Mansfield site but this could increase as the company expects to grow the business.

Vertu plans to invest about £400,000 in improvements including expanding the showroom and bringing it up to Vertu’s latest standards.

Work will be carried out in the next 12 months.

In all, the company will spend around £1.2 million across the three new sites.

Vertu Motors plc (which trades under the Bristol Street Motors, Macklin Motors, Vertu Honda and Bristol Street Motor Nation brands) was formed in late 2006 to acquire and consolidate UK motor retail businesses.

Since flotation in December 2006, the group has established itself as a major player in the UK automotive retail sector.

The group operates 104 outlets which represent a total of 19 manufacturers across the UK.

In Mansfield Vertu also represents Suzuki, Honda and Hyundai.