Jobs rescued as Vertu buys 
dealer from administrators

Vertu Motors has acquired the business and certain assets of the Vauxhall dealership in Harrogate of Nidd Vale Motors for £800,000.

Vertu has entered into a short- term lease at the Leeds Road, Harrogate premises which are occupied by Nidd Vale.

Vertu is planning to move the Vauxhall business to a new dealership development in Knaresborough within the next year.

Last week, it was revealed that Nidd Vale, which is one of the best-known brands in Yorkshire, had gone into administration.

According to a statement issued by Vertu, in the year ended June 30, 2012 the draft management accounts of the Nidd Vale Harrogate business, which include non-Vauxhall income streams, showed a turnover of £24.2m and an operating loss of £700,000.

Robert Forrester, the chief executive of Vertu Motors, said: “Following the acquisition of the Bradford Nissan and Renault dealerships in September, the group is keen to develop the scale of its operations in Yorkshire. Nidd Vale has in the past been a very strong Vauxhall dealer with a substantial customer base.

“This acquisition represents a great opportunity for the group to develop its relationship with Vauxhall and to represent the Vauxhall brand in this area.”

Mr Forrester told the Yorkshire Post yesterday: “Harrogate, Knaresborough and Wetherby is a good territory and we’ve already got some very successful Vauxhall businesses around the country.

“We founded the business in December 2006 as a start-up and now we are the seventh biggest dealership in the UK with 91 dealerships. This acquisition is part of our strategy to expand. New car sales have been a double-digit higher than last year.

“The European car market is in disarray and more and more manufacturers are sending vehicles to the UK to be sold. The UK has one of the most robust economies in Europe. We’re not in a boom, but the car market is clawing back towards normality.”

In a statement issued last week, Santander justified calling in administrators, saying: “We have been working closely with Nidd Vale Motors to try to resolve financial issues. However, following a failure to reach a financial resolution, administrators have been appointed to look at the best options for the future of the company and its staff.”

Nobody was available to comment at the administrators, Leonard Curtis, yesterday.