A £6.5m flagship outlet for Ferrari and Maserati has been established in Nottingham by the Graypaul group, part of Penske’s United Auto Group and which also has an outlet in Edinburgh.

The UK is Ferrari Maserati’s fourth largest market, behind USA, Germany and Italy. In his first British media interview, Ferrari Maserati UK managing director Massimo Fedeli told AM at the official opening that he aims to make the UK the second largest market.

With a 50-car showroom as well as 15 service bays, hand-over facility and twin specification rooms where customers can see and touch every aspect of their car before placing an order, the Graypaul site is the largest in Europe for the two supercars.

Its opening comes two months after the formation of Ferrari Maserati UK, a subsidiary of Ferrari Maserati Group in Italy, to import and distribute here. Previously distribution rights were contracted to Maranello Concessionaires, part of the Inchcape retail group.

Fedeli says he needs to strengthen relations with his 16-strong dealer network. His new headquarters in Slough already provides technical assistance, sales and aftersales training and business support to the network.

He sees it having an important role in feeding back to Italy on requirements specific to the UK buyer. “We see the British venture as one of the most interesting projects we can handle now, because for Ferrari Maserati it is important to be closer to the consumer,” he says.

“If UK customers demand something, such as an automatic gearbox for the Maserati for example, we will try to achieve that by consulting with Italy.

“As a UK company, we will be able to give more stability and feedback to our dealer network. We’ve a good network here, and we want to improve our relationship to grow our presence in the market and give them the support needed to be a very profitable company.”

While he will lobby Italy for a greater allocation of cars, he says his dealers must back him by providing the best network facilities and aftersales service.

To raise public awareness of the Ferrari Maserati UK subsidiary, the business will enter a factory team in the European Ferrari Challenge next year. Fedeli would not give precise details, except to say it will be “a British team, a British car and a British driver”.