HR Owen has acquired west of London BMW dealership Heathrow Ltd for £4.6m, including £2.1m in cash. Heathrow Ltd made a pre-tax profit of £1.1m on a turnover of £44.7m in the 12 months to December 2002.

HR Owen also owns Holland Park BMW in West London. In addition to the BMW marque, both dealerships operate Mini franchises.

Nicholas Lancaster, chief executive, says: “BMW and Mini have been one of the fastest growing and most profitable franchises in the UK, and the expansion of our BMW interests further consolidates our position as one of the leading specialist car retailers in London and the Home Counties. We have recently announced that we are also developing a third BMW dealership at Park Royal in West London, and that we have been awarded Rolls-Royce (the third brand owned by BMW) for London.”