Steven Eagell Group has confirmed the acquisition of four Toyota and two Lexus car dealerships in the West Midlands from the Vantage Motor Group.

Confirmation of the deal came in a statement issued by the AM100 franchised operator today (March 9) – five days after AM exclusively reported on the pending transaction.

As reported by AM, the sites acquired by Steven Eagell were: Toyota and Lexus, in Birmingham; Toyota Solihull; Toyota Tamworth; and Toyota and Lexus, in Wolverhampton.

The acquisitions bring the total number of sites now operated by the Milton Keynes-based, privately-owned, company to 29 (22 Toyota, 7 Lexus).

Steven Eagell Group chief executive, Steven Eagell, said: “We’re delighted to have acquired these businesses – they are a great fit for us both strategically and geographically, and offer plenty of opportunity for growth.

“This also further cements our fantastic relationship with our manufacturer partners, with whom we will continue to work closely with to deliver an exceptional customer experience.”

He added: “Our initial priority will be the integration of the new businesses into the group with minimum disruption.

“We are delighted to welcome our new colleagues to the company and are very much looking forward to working closely with them to provide a first-class service to both existing and new customers”

The disposal of the four Toyota and two Lexus franchised sites to Steven Eagell is the latest in a series carried out by Vantage following the group’s acquisition from founder Mark Robinson in a management buy-out (MBO) in December.

In an interim trading update published via the London Stock Exchange on March 3, Vertu Motors announced that it had completed the £4 million acquisition of its Kia and Honda businesses in Bradford.

Like Vantage Motor Group, Steven Eagell Group was originally formed with the support of Toyota and has enjoyed rapid growth in recent years.

In 2017 the Milton Keynes-based retail group added to its Lexus representation with the acquisition of Lexus Milton Keynes from the AM100-topping Sytner Group.

That deal came less than a year after the group followed up the acquisition of its first Lexus dealership, Hatfield Lexus from Lookers, with the acquisition of two Lexus franchises and six Toyota sites in Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk from Jardine Motors Group.

In January last year Steven Eagell was crowned Best Lexus Group as its won a hat-trick of awards at the annual Lexus ‘Centre of Excellence Awards’.

The group now operates Toyota operations in Aylesbury, Bedford, Bishop’s Stortford, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, King’s Lynn, Letchworth, Luton, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Peterborough, Rayleigh, Romford, St Albans, St Ives and Watford and Lexus branches in Cambridge, Hatfield, Ipswich, Milton Keynes and Southend (aftersales only).