Richmond Motor Group has acquired Skoda, Suzuki and Mitsubishi businesses near Southampton for an undisclosed sum.
The group has bought Skoda, Suzuki and Mitsubishi in Fareham and a Skoda business in Botley from Sparshatts.
The businesses will be rebranded as Richmond. A number of the Sparshatts directors have retained the company name and their non-franchised used car outlets.
Richmond now has 12 franchise locations and one used car supermarket, covering an area from South-West London to Portsmouth and Southampton, employing 500 staff.
Richmond has plans to add a further four franchise locations within the next 12 months.
The acquisition will push it up the motor Trader Top 200 dealer groups.
“The acquisition is key to diversifying the group’s portfolio to ensure long term resilience in a tough UK market.
“Despite a general downturn in the UK automotive sector, all our existing businesses have seen significant year on year growth, which is testament to the fantastic team of people we employ.
“We intend to apply many of the Richmond cutting-edge processes to the Sparshatts business to leverage profitability and returns,” said Richmond Motor Group founder and MD Michael Nobes (pictured).
Fraser Brown, managing director of MotorVise, which brokered the deal said: “I am delighted this acquisition has come to fruition. It’s one of those deals that works for all parties, the Sparshatts team, all three franchises, and clearly it massively enhances the Richmond business.