Swindon-based car dealer group Cambria Automobiles has added a Vauxhall franchise to its portfolio following the acquisition of a dealership in Southampton.
The deal takes Cambria’s locations to 27 while the addition of Vauxhall brings the total number of new car franchises to 39, including Citroen, Seat and Jaguar dealerships in Swindon.
The news follows the group’s pre-close trading statement which showed the group achieved another year of growth “broadly in line with market expectations” despite a difficult market.
Cambria said it was on the lookout for further acquisitions and intends to pursue more opportunities with Vauxhall.
The acquired business in Southampton has been loss making in recent years, and it is anticipated will dilute earnings in the short term while Cambria’s systems and processes are brought in. The business was acquired on a net asset basis and no goodwill was paid.
Cambria chief executive Mark Lavery said he was confident the Vauxhall dealership will return to profitability in the medium term.
“I am pleased with the performance achieved by the group against a background of a very challenging new and used car market,” he said.
“We continue to use this market weakness to drive forward our buy-and-build strategy, utilising our strong balance sheet. We continue to out-perform our under-lying markets and view the future with confidence notwithstanding the obvious short-term challenges the industry faces.”
Cambria is one of the UK’s fastest-growing motor dealer groups having made eight acquisition since 2006. Its brands include Invicta Motors and Dees Ford, four Jaguar dealerships under the Grange brand, three Volvo dealerships under the Doves name and three Aston Martin dealerships also under the Grange brand.
