JCT600 has gained its first Audi franchises in York and Hull.

It has acquired the £30m turnover businesses, employing 80 staff, from Gilder Group.

Chief executive John Tordoff said: “We have wanted to work with Audi for some time as the brand has a great fit with our offering. In Hull Audi and York Audi we have been able to acquire two great dealerships with excellent reputations and quality staff in cities we already know very well.

“We have enjoyed a successful start to 2009, despite a tough year last year, and these acquisitions show our confidence and prove that as a business we have weathered the worst of the economic downturn."

York and Hull are the first Audi franchises within the JCT600 group, which now operates 44 dealerships throughout Yorkshire and the North East and employs over 1,300 people.