Meridian Motor Group has acquired three Toyota centres in Lancashire from the Vantage Group for an undisclosed sum.

This puts Meridian’s Toyota portfolio to six, with centres in Knaresborough, York and Bridlington and the additional centres in Preston, Blackburn and Colne.

The acquisition comes at a time when Meridian has strengthened its board by appointing former National Express Group chief executive, Phil White as its non-executive chairman.

Founder and managing director of Meridian Motor Group, Mark Robinson, said the deal, coupled with White’s track record, signalled the start of an exciting new era for the company.

He said: “This acquisition effectively doubles the size of our company overnight, in terms of turnover, representation points and customer base.

“It forms a key plank in our ambition to grow the company further, particularly in our north of England heartland, although we want to achieve this in a carefully-planned and phased way.”

The three Lancashire operations will continue to trade under the Vantage brand, Meridian’s Yorkshire Toyota Centre’s will be re-branded Vantage Toyota in the near future.

The Vauxhall dealerships that formed part of the Vantage group were acquired separately by Perrys.

Meridian was advised throughout the acquisition process by Leeds-based Walker Morris solicitors; Trevor Jones and Co, of Stockport auditors.


Picture Caption: Yorkshire-based Meridian Motor Group’s Board. From left to right: Financial director David Hannam, chairman Phil White, and managing director Mark Robinson, who celebrate their first acquisition together, which sees their company double in size to six Toyota Centres.