Aberdeen-based multi-franchise group John Clark has taken the VW franchise from ailing Abercromby to make its first move into Fife. An eight-car showroom in Kirkcaldy will be the focal point of its £1m investment.

John Clark Motor Group, on course to top £100m in turnover this year, has operated VW in Aberdeen under its Specialist Cars banner since 1987.

Chairman and managing director John Clark said: “This is a significant move for us into a new territory. Fife is a major player in the new and used car markets and has been an area which I have long planned to enter.”

First year sales from the 1.5-acre site on the Mitchelston Industrial Estate are expected to achieve 300 new with another 300 used. When it opens next month, the new dealership is expected to generate a turnover of around £9m. The new showroom shares a site with a seven-bay service workshop, nine-bay bodyshop and two vehicle preparation bays to be incorporated into an existing building.

JCMG, started in 1977, operates from Aberdeen in the north, through Dundee and Fife and into Edinburgh.