11:02 am, June 8, 2016
THIS week the Trade Plates TV news round-up video has been given a new look, while Rebecca was joined by Marshall Motor Holdings CEO Daksh Gupta and Vertu Motors CEO Robert Forrester to discuss their recent acquisitions.
To watch the video for yourself click play below. To find out more about the stories you can follow the links underneath.
Year gets off to a strong start for Skoda with profit and sales on the up
Skoda’s deliveries, sales revenue and operating profit all increased over the first three months of this year. In fact, the first quarter of 2016 was Skoda’s strongest start to a year ever, with sales increasing 4.3 per cent to 276,600 vehicles.
Motorpoint acquires car supermarket site near Birmingham
Motorpoint has announced the acquisition of a car supermarket site near Birmingham for an undisclosed sum. According to Motorpoint, the largest independent vehicle retailer in the UK, the new site is expected to be operational by July 2016.
Marshall Motor Holdings buys Ridgeway Garages in ‘transformational’ £106.9m deal
Marshall Motor Holdings plc, one of the UK’s leading automotive retail and leasing groups, has bought Ridgeway Garages in a £106.9m deal. The acquisition sees Marshall move from being the 10th to the seventh largest motor dealer group in the UK and has been hailed by boss Daksh Gupta as being ‘truly transformational’ for his company.
Vertu Motors announces acquisition of Gordon Lamb Group
Vertu Motors, the automotive retailer with a network of 132 sales and aftersales outlets across the UK, has announced the acquisition of Gordon Lamb Group Limited for £18.7m. Gordon Lamb operates Toyota, Land Rover, Skoda and Nissan outlets in Chesterfield, as well as a Skoda outlet in Derby, and has been trading for more than 60 years.
Volvo Cars UK boss Nick Connor promoted to chief executive at Polestar
Volvo Cars UK managing director Nick Connor has been promoted to the position of chief executive at Polestar – Volvo’s wholly-owned performance arm. He will take up the position on July 1 and moves to Polestar after four years as managing director of Volvo Cars UK, during which time sales volumes rose by 60 per cent. He will replace Björn Sällström, who has been acting CEO since Volvo’s acquisition of Polestar last July.
First quarter goes well for Lookers with profits ahead of last year
Things are looking good at Lookers – the company has just revealed a positive trading performance for the first three months of the year, and a strong result during the key plate-change month of March.
Bristol Street Motors unveils £600,000 refurbishment at Exeter dealership
Bristol Street Motors has invested £600,000 in the relocation and major refurbishment of its Hyundai dealership in Exeter. The redevelopment is part of a continued investment by Bristol Street Motors, part of Vertu Motors, across its network of dealerships nationwide.
Revenues through the £1bn mark again at JCT600
Bradford-based JCT600 has once again seen revenues break the £1billion mark with sales rising by 12 per cent to £1.145bn during 2015. Pre-tax profit rose marginally in 2015 to £18.61m with the group continuing to perform well despite pressure on margins in a very competitive market.
