Dealer group Reg Vardy says it remains confident of a strong end-of-year performance despite what it calls a 'soft' new car market.

It said today that that while overall private new car registrations in the three months ending March 31 were 14.4% below last year group volume was ahead of the market on a like-for-like basis.

In a pre-close update in advance of its preliminary results for the year ended April 30, Reg Vardy said the market for new vehicle sales in the UK has continued to remain relatively soft, with sales across the market in the peak month of March not reaching the record levels of last year.

Reg Vardy expects results for the year will benefit from significant exceptional profits in relation to VAT claims and property disposals previously reported. In addition, the group completed a property disposal on March 21 in respect of a dealership formerly held by the group. The proceeds in cash were £4.3m and gave a profit of £2.5m. The group expects no current tax charge to arise on this gain as a result of rollover relief being claimed.

Preliminary results are to be announced on July 13.