Vertu Motors completes Sandicliffe Kia Nottingham dealership acquisition

Vertu Motors has completed the acquisition of Sandicliffe Motor Group’s Kia dealership in Nottingham.

The newly-added site, on Vernon Rd, Old Basford, Nottingham, is the AM100 PLC's third network addition with the Korean car brand completed so far in 2020.

Taking to Twitter to announce the completion of the deal this lunch time, Vertu chief executive, Robert Forrester, said that he was “delighted” with the acquisition.

He said: “Delighted to announce the purchase of the @KiaUK dealership in Nottingham from @Sandicliffe. Our third Kia purchase in 2020 and a great addition to the Group.”

Back in March AM reported that Vertu had completed the £4m acquisition of the Kia Bradford and Honda Bradford business from the Vantage Motor Group.

That deal came two months after it added the former Leven Car Company Kia Edinburgh dealership in a move which also included the retail group’s Suzuki and Mitsubishi franchises on the same site.

Vertu Motors declared an intention to add new manufacturer partners as it grows through acquisition in a 2019 results statement following its first two days of showroom trading since the COVID-19 lockdown.

In August Vertu Motors reported an adjusted profit before tax of £7.4m for July in a trading updated which revealed post-lockdown trading had been “significantly stronger than envisaged”.

The dealer group introduced a 0% finance used vehicle sale at the majority of its dealerships in England and also made 345 redundancies last month in order to 'future proof' the business.

The 6% cut to Vertu's headcount is expected to save the business £10m in ongoing annual costs.

Vertu incurred an adjusted loss before tax of £5.2m in the March to June period and so has now made a year to date adjusted profit before tax result of £2.2m.

Speaking at the time of the update, Forrester said: “July trading continued the trends seen in June and was significantly stronger than both what we envisaged and the group's original business plan for the month.

“A robust recovery in customer demand for our vehicles and servicing has continued, aided by our investments in omnichannel retailing.”