12:10 pm, July 10, 2013
MERIDIAN Motor Group has sealed its latest deal in acquiring the business of Batemans Toyota.
The new dealership, which will trade as Vantage Toyota, is set to boost annual turnover to £140m, increase total workforce numbers to 330 and broaden its geographic footprint.
Based at Grange-over-Sands on the edge of the Lake District, the dealership will continue to operate from its current location until a new and improved site is secured.
This deal sees the total number of Toyota centres go up to 10, making the group one of the largest Toyota Network Partners in the UK. The enlarged group sells more than 10,000 new and used cars per year.
This is just one of the many developments the Harrogate-based business is working on to mark its tenth anniversary and this particular deal is hot on the heels of the previous acquisition of four West Midlands dealerships and the development of a new site in Scarborough in June.
Founder and managing director of Meridian Motor Group, Mark Robinson said: ‘We are delighted to announce this latest acquisition. It extends our Vantage brand into a new but complimentary geographic region and fits in well with the ambitious expansion plans we have for the Group.
‘We are very proud to be one of the largest Toyota partners in the UK.’
Chairman of Batemans Toyota, Ian Worth added: ‘We are pleased that the business is being transformed into the ownership of Vantage Toyota, which is a well respected operator within the Toyota network already operating from sites in Lancashire and Yorkshire.
‘Our customers can be assured that the high levels of service they have experienced in the past will be maintained.’
