AM understands that Land Rover is planning to update its corporate identity within the next 12 to 18 months. Dealership totems, signs, tiles and other internal fittings are set to be revised.

Some dealers believe this could cost in the region of £70,000 per site. “The moment we start making any money, the manufacturers take it away,” says one long-serving Land Rover retailer.

However, the carmaker’s press office will only say that a review is currently under way. “The outcome hasn’t been finalized and it’s too early to say at this stage,” says a spokesman.

Land Rover last made revisions to the corporate identity of its showrooms between 1997 and 1999.

Meanwhile, Dutton Forshaw has been re-awarded the Land Rover franchise four years after losing it.

The dealer group, owned by Lloyds TSB, has opened a dealership in Battersea, London this month, where it also has a VW dealership and an Audi used car and service centre. All operate under the group’s Dovercourt brand.

Winning the 4x4 franchise is a turning point for Dutton Forshaw. Both Land Rover and Jaguar, its Ford Premier Automotive Group stablemate, withdrew their franchises in 2002 when Dutton Forshaw was bought by Lloyds TSB. It was forced to sell its existing businesses to the carmakers’ preferred choices.

Rakesh Mehta, Dovercourt Land Rover dealer principal, says: “The dealership is really taking shape and there has been considerable local interest.”