Karl Vella Group has expanded into its fifth bodyshop with its takeover of County Coachbuilders Automotive.

The North-west of England accident repair group will increase total turnover by £1.75m to almost £12m. 

The acquired bodyshop, in Barrow-In-Furness, Cumbria, has capacity for more than 50 repairs per week so extends Karl Vella's total capacity to more than 300 repairs weekly.

It is BSI Kitemark accredited and holds insurer and  manufacturer approvals including Mercedes, Peugeot and Renault.

David Vella, operations director of Karl Vella Group said: "We are really pleased with the purchase of County Coachbuilders, which significantly strengthens our proposition as a north-west accident repair network.

This is the first in a number of exciting developments within the Karl Vella Group that we will be announcing during 2011."

County Coachbuilders’ coverage extends across Cumbria into Carlisle in the north and Lancaster in the south, joining up with the areas serviced by Karl Vella Group’s existing bodyshop sites in Preston, Skelmersdale, Blackburn and Southport.