New £6m Nissan centre for Scotland 15 | 10 | 2015
VERTU MOTORS, WHICH operates under the Macklin Motors banner in Scotland, has revealed it is to invest £6 million in a new flagship Nissan dealership in Glasgow city centre. The news came as the company reported record profits.
The showroom will be built on the site of publisher DC Thomson’s former print works, close to the M8 motorway. And with demolition of the building already underway, Vertu chief executive Robert Forrester admitted he hopes the new dealership — which is expected to employ 50 staff — will be ready within 12 months.
The Gateshead-based company — which has 119 dealerships around the UK — currently operates the Nissan franchise it took over in Glasgow in April, from two temporary buildings in the north of the city.
Forrester was speaking as Vertu revealed record interim profits of £16.4 million, up 28.1% on the same period last year.
“We will be investing in the next 12 months in a flagship site in Glasgow, on the site of the old DC Thomson printing works," he said.
“We are currently in the process of demolishing the printing works, and we will be building a dealership right next to the M8 in the centre of Glasgow.
“It is a big investment for the group, and we will create quite a lot of jobs in the centre.”
Related: Vertu opens new Infiniti Centre
And he emphasised the company, which operates 10 Macklin Motors dealerships around Scotland, continues to have a “good pipeline” of acquisition opportunities, having also recently added Jaguar, Audi and Land Rover dealerships to its portfolio south of the Border.
Forrester was also quick to state the company would not shy away from acquiring further Volkswagen and Audi dealerships, despite the emissions scandal at the German car giant.
He also revealed that Vertu has acquired two Volkswagen dealerships and one Audi operation since the controversy broke.
“We have not got massive exposure," he said referring to the fallout from the VW Group emissions scandal, "to be honest we are under-weight (in Volkswagen cars). If I was offered more Volkswagen and Audi dealerships, yes I would take them.
“I think those cars are still going to be wanted in the UK and they are fantastic manufacturers of aspirational cars.”
And while Vertu — which reported a 14% rise in interim revenues to £1.24 billion — anticipates full-year results will be ahead of expectations, Forrester also highlighted that he had acquired a another Scots company, the Taxi Centre.
Based near Glasgow Airport, the Taxi Centre is a major supplier of cars for the private hire market, which he said was contributing well to the group.
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Jim McGill