Virgin Cars is celebrating the delivery of a car to its 5,000th customer, one year after the online car retailing operation was launched.

A Mr Freeman, from Manchester, paid £110,000 for an Aston Martin DB7, saving almost £11,000 on the manufacturer list-price. Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson handed over the keys.

Ian Lancaster, Virgin Cars' chief executive, said: "We will continue to offer consumers a better value service, improving the choice of vehicles available and providing the best aftersales package on the market."

Since launch in May 2000 Virgin says it has sold more than 5,000 cars, with a total value of £115m and saved customers more than £10m.