FAST-GROWING Vertu Motors has bought three East Midlands and Yorkshire dealerships from Co-op Motors for £5.5m.

The acquired sites add a further six franchised sales outlets to the group’s portfolio, with Nissan and Fiat in Derby, Nissan and Peugeot in Ilkeston and Nissan and Renault in Bradford.

The Derby location has two additional showrooms which will be refranchised in the coming months, adding a further two sales outlets to the group’s portfolio.

A total of £3.9m of the purchase price is to be deferred over three years with the balance being settled in cash from the group’s existing resources. No goodwill is payable.

In the year ended December 31, 2011, the management accounts of the acquired businesses showed a turnover of £113 million and a break-even operating result before interest and tax. The dealerships are expected to be earnings-neutral in the current financial year and move into profit in the year to February 2014.

Vertu has a network of 88 sales and aftersales outlets across the UK including nine Peugeot, seven Nissan, three Renault and three Fiat sales outlets.

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

Robert Forrester, CEO, said: ‘We are pleased to have acquired a further six sales outlets from Co-op Motors. We will integrate these new sites into our portfolio under the Bristol Street Motors brand, which is already well established in these regions.

Skills and expertise

‘We are delighted to be growing our representation with our existing manufacturer partners, with the potential to add a new franchise to the group in due course at one of these sites.

‘The mix of both freehold and leasehold property in this transaction reflects our approach of both developing our freehold property portfolio, while also using our cash conservatively.

‘With this transaction we are welcoming 200 new colleagues to the group. We are confident that their skills and expertise in providing an outstanding customer motoring experience will help us to grow our sales and profits in the years to come.’