Vantage sells four dealerships

Vantage Motor Group is believed to be selling four of its 22 dealerships to Vertu and Steven Eagell.

Vertu Motors is understood to have bought the neighbouring Kia and Honda dealerships in Bradford, while Steven Eagell is buying the Birmingham Toyota and Lexus showrooms located to the north of the city.

The Bradford deal, which was understood to have completed on Friday 28 February, gives Vertu its second Kia showroom. Last month they bought it their first in Edinburgh from the collapsed Leven Car Company. Vertu is already the UK’s largest Honda retailer.

Vantage, a leading franchised dealer group, have locations throughout northern England. The group was sold by founder Mark Robinson at the end of 2019 to its management team lead by Phil White, had seen a drop in profits in its latest results. The 2018 accounts issued last month showed a fall in return on sales to 0.8% from 0.9% in 2017.

Profit before tax was down 14.3% to £1.25 million on a turnover of £284.7m