Wine warehouse retailer Majestic Wine is looking for dealerships wanting to sell up in 2012 in order to fuel its plans to open 16 new sites this year.

Majestic believes it has a flexible approach to the type of property it can occupy.

Car showrooms are often ideal as they are found in prominent locations, facing busy main roads with external space for customer car parking, which Majestic says is essential to the successful operation of a store.

Majestic has recently taken over former car showrooms which previously represented Mercedes, Ford, Peugeot and Mitsubishi, together with a former motorcycle showroom.

Alisdair James, partner at Rapleys, said: “Typically, Majestic looks for units of between 3,000 and 3,500 sq ft and will look to convert or refurbish existing buildings wherever possible, either on freehold or leasehold terms.

“Majestic is seeking representation in more affluent areas and has identified 75 new target locations which it considers will support a store.”

James said a number of car showroom sites were already in the pipeline to be sold to Majestic this year.

The company has a particular focus on the areas within the M25 where it is keen to secure further representation to build on the 44 existing stores within this area.