The chairman of Pendragon, the UK's largest dealer group, says it is on course for an improved performance in the present financial year.

Trevor Finn also revealed today that the company had bought one million ordinary shares, costing £2.26m – taken from the net profits gained from the disposal of freehold properties - and then cancelled them in order to improve shareholder value.

In a statement Mr Finn said: “We remain confident that actions taken last year to enrich our franchise portfolio by the acquisition of luxury car franchises from Lex Service and the disposal of non-core and under performing dealerships have positioned us well for an uplift in group's performance.

“Trading results in the first three months of the current year have reaffirmed this view.”