Vertu Motors has carried out an £18.7m acquisition that will see it expand across the North East and Yorkshire.
The Gateshead car dealership group has bought 12 sales outlets from The Cooper Group Limited, which is part of Inchcape Plc.
They consist of BMW and Mini franchises, as well as a BMW Motorrad motorcycle operation and a used car outlet, covering five key areas in Durham in County Durham; Sunderland; Teesside and and Malton and York in North Yorkshire.
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Acquiring the 12 new sites take brings Vertu’s total number of franchises to 32 making it the biggest 海角视频 automotive retailer in the 海角视频.
Robert Forrester, CEO of Vertu Motors said: “We are delighted to announce the introduction of the much sought after BMW, MINI and Motorrad franchises to the group, previously a gap in our portfolio of manufacturer partners. The addition of these franchises has long been a strategic objective of the group. The acquisition achieves immediate scale in a region where the group is headquartered and already has strong representation.
“The business has previously performed at a high level and it is our intention to ensure that it returns to this previous success delivering both for customers and financially.
“As the group enters its 15th year of trading, this acquisition reflects a further milestone in both its scale and maturity.”
The deal was made for a total cash consideration of £18.7m together with the assumption of manufacturer used vehicle stocking finance of £8.9m.
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Vertu acquired assets that included £16m of freehold and long leasehold properties and a goodwill payment of £800,000. The Durham, Teesside and Sunderland sites were acquired on a freehold or long leasehold basis. Vertu has secured new leases on the remaining properties.
The deal was financed with a 20-year mortgage facility from BMW Financial Services.
Together, the 12 dealerships brought in £305m in revenue for the year ending December 31 2019, but made a pre-tax loss of £6m.
Vertu Motors said it has a “clear plan to drive performance” over the next three years, which includes renaming the sites under the Vertu brand.
Graeme Grieve, CEO for BMW Group 海角视频 and Ireland, said: “Vertu has been working with BMW Group over a number of years as a potential partner and we are delighted to be able to bring their professionalism and energy into our retailer network.
“We very much look forward to working closely with Vertu, to ensure customers in the North East and Yorkshire have an excellent customer experience with our brands and gain from the substantial investment we have made in electric powertrains as the 海角视频 accelerates its transition to zero carbon in new vehicles.”
Vertu made the announcement of the deal in a trading update to its investors.
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The company said for during the nine months ending November 30 2020 adjusted profit before tax was 15% higher than it was in 2019.
It added that its profit figures had benefited from Government schemes launched to help businesses survive the coronavirus pandemic. This includes a business rates holiday and claiming funds through the furlough scheme.
However, Vertu did warn that Brexit may create problems for the firm in the future.
The company said: “It remains uncertain as to whether trading performance for the remainder of the financial year will continue at the level seen year to date, particularly given the potential impact on trading of further Covid-19 restrictions and the impact of Brexit from 1 January 2021.”