Vertu Motors chairman Peter Jones will step down from his position with the AM100 retail group “in the coming months”.

Jones will leave the Gateshead-based operation, which today (May 8) revealed a 6.7% increase in turnover to £2.98 billion alongside a 16.3% decline in profit before tax to £25.3 million in its 2018 annual results, having spent more than four years in-post.

In a statement issued within the Vertu’s annual financial statement for the period to December 31, 2018, Jones said that he was leaving the business “in an excellent position and poised for further growth”.

He said: “I have been in place as chairman since 1 January 2015 and now consider it is time to step down in the coming months, having overseen a number of board changes in the last 18 months and with the group in an excellent position and poised for further growth.  

“A process has commenced to find a new non-executive chairman for the Group and further announcements are expected in the coming months.”

Jones added: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Board, management and, above all, the incredible colleagues in the group for their passion, commitment and hard work. 

“This group was founded in late 2006 and is now a significant player in the UK automotive retail sector with an excellent, exciting future ahead of it.”

Vertu made note of a number of top-level changes during the reported period.

During 2018, David Crane was appointed as an executive director on 26 July 2018, while Nigel Stead, who had been a non-executive director for seven years, retired from the board at the end of December. 

Andrew Goss joined the Group as a non-executive director on September 3, 2018, while Michael Sherwin retired from his position as chief financial officer on March 1, to be succeeded by Karen Anderson.