9:42 pm, September 12, 2011
DEALER group Cambria Automobiles has revealed a year of ‘significant growth’ despite tough conditions.
In a pre-close statement the dealer group said that following a strong first six months the second half of the year was ‘mixed’.
But it said it remains on track to deliver full-year results ‘broadly in line with market expectations’.
Cambria also announced the acquisition of a Vauxhall dealership in Southampton as the board revealed it was seeing ‘ an increasing number of opportunities’.
A spokesman said: ‘Cambria completed the acquisition of the Vauxhall dealership in Southampton on 1 September 2011 and in so doing we are delighted to add Vauxhall as a partner to our brand portfolio.’
This is the first Vauxhall franchised outlet for Cambria, the addition of which increases the number of group locations to 27 and the total number of new car franchises to 39.
CHALLENGING
The spokesman added: ‘The outlook for the UK automotive market for the next 12 months remains challenging with the business facing a combination of declining used car residuals and reduced new car margins as a consequence of the pressure being faced by our suppliers, the vehicle manufacturers, from the relative strength of the Yen and the Euro and depressed UK consumer demand.
‘However these market conditions will generate an increasing number of opportunities to aggressively extend our buy-and-build strategy, utilising our strong balance sheet.
‘We anticipate this will accelerate the growth of the Group, capitalising on our excellent track record in turning around loss making businesses.’
Mark Lavery, chief executive officer, added: ‘I am pleased with the performance achieved by the group against a background of a very challenging new and used car market.
‘We continue to use this market weakness to drive forward our buy-and-build strategy, utilising our strong balance sheet and today announce the acquisition of our maiden Vauxhall dealership.
‘We continue to out-perform our under lying markets and view the future with confidence notwithstanding the obvious short-term challenges the industry faces.’
