Vertu Honda has held the Honda franchise since 1996. Originally known as Lincolnshire Honda it became part of the Vertu group in June 2007. The business steadily grew and now represents Honda throughout Lincolnshire and North Nottinghamshire with dealerships in Boston, Grantham, Lincoln, Mansfield and Retford.

Throughout this time the product range has grown alongside our business, however one thing which has remained constant in each of our dealerships is commitment, by each and every one of our colleagues, towards offering a warm welcome and a professional service, at all times. Nothing is too much trouble. We will always do our best to satisfy any customer request across all departments of the business.

A good number of our colleagues have been with us since the beginning, building relationships with our customers, offering advice and their experience where required.

A solid foundation of excellent products and knowledgeable teams makes for a winning formula and in turn results in a successful Honda dealer group who really appreciates the value of excellent customer service, at all times.

 

Who we are

Vertu Motors plc (which trades under the Bristol Street Motors, Macklin Motors, Vertu Honda and Bristol Street Motor Nation brands) was formed in late 2006 to acquire and consolidate UK motor retail businesses. The group was founded as a new entrant into the UK motor retail sector and is listed on the AIM market (UK:VTU).

Bristol Street Motors originated in the early 1900’s as a single Ford dealership located on Bristol Street in central Birmingham (www.bristolstreet.co.uk). Since those early days the business grew to become one of the largest dealer groups in the UK with a nationwide chain of franchised motor dealerships offering sales, service, parts, and bodyshop facilities for new and used car and commercial vehicles. The Group also operates a number of Bristol Street Motor Nation used car outlets (www.motornation.co.uk) and a number of Honda dealerships (www.vertuhonda.com). In 2010 Vertu Motors expanded into Scotland, trading under the Macklin Motors brand (www.macklinmotors.co.uk). Vertu Motors plc is now the 9th largest motor retailer in the United Kingdom and was awarded the Motor Trader Dealer Group of the Year in 2008.

Our History

The story so far…

• In December 2006 the Group was admitted to Aim following an oversubscribed equity raise of £25m (£23.6 million after expenses).
• On 27th February 2007 the Group announced that it had exchanged contracts to purchase the entire share capital of Bristol Street Group Limited for estimated consideration of £31 million cash and £9m of shares to be placed with the vendor. In addition, debt estimated at £29m was to be assumed.
• On 27th March 2007 the Group completed the acquisition of Bristol Street and concluded a further equity placing of £26m (£22.6m after finance and acquisition expenses).
• On 2nd May 2007 the Group completed the acquisition of Blake Holdings Limited for estimated consideration of £4.9 million. The Blakes operations include a Vauxhall dealership in Chesterfield, a Vauxhall service centre in Matlock and Peugeot dealerships located in Chesterfield and Worksop.
• On 29th June 2007 the Group acquired four Honda car dealerships and one Honda Motorcycle dealership in the East Midlands, through the purchase of the entire share capital of Grantham Motors Company Limited for a cash consideration of £4.6m. The dealerships required are located in Grantham, Lincoln, Boston, Retford.
• On 29th June 2007 the Group acquired the trade and assets a Ford dealership in Morpeth, Northumberland from the Jennings Group for cash consideration of £2.6m.
• In March 2008 and 2009 respectively the group opened new greenfield site used car outlets in Doncaster and Darlington under the Bristol Street Motor Nation brand.
• In June 2009 the group completed a £30M placing, net of expenses, in order to fund a further dealership acquisition programme.
• In June 2009 the group purchased three dealership locations from the receivers of Brooklyn Motors plc at Redditch, Cheltenham and Worcester. This brought the Mazda franchise into the group for the first time.
• July 2009 saw the acquisition of our Ilford Vauxhall and Chevrolet dealership.
• On 2nd November 2009 we added our Vauxhall Lichfield dealership to our portfolio, strengthening the Bristol Street Motors brand in its heartland of the West Midlands. 
• In December 2009 we acquired a dual franchised dealership in Darlington. Adding our third Renault site and bringing the SEAT franchise to the Group for the first time.
• January 2010 is a huge step for the group where we open our first Scottish location in Dunfermline by acquiring Dunfermline Autocentre Ford car dealership.
• In April 2010 we bought our second Scottish dealership, our Peugeot dealership in Paisley which was branded Macklin Motors, which is to be the Group’s brand for future dealership acquisitions in Scotland. This month also saw the relocation of our Renault business in Gloucester from a dual franchise to freehold property to allow for growth in scale. 
• On 9th June 2010 we rolled out further Macklin Motor dealerships with the acquisition of two dual franchised Ford and Mazda dealerships in Glasgow and Hamilton.
• Also in June 2010 the group acquired Vauxhall dealerships in Crewe and Macclesfield. 
• In July 2010 we added a second SEAT dealership to our Bristol Street Motors portfolio with a dealership in Derby. 
• On 10th September 2010 the group purchased a Peugeot business in Dunfermline. 
• Also in September 2010, the group strengthened their regional concentration in the North West by acquiring two dual franchised dealerships in Altrincham (Renault and Nissan) and Macclesfield (Renault and Ford).
• On 7 February 2011 the Group franchised its nonfranchised Motor Nation used car operation at Darlington with the Nissan franchise.
• On 22 February 2011 the Group acquired the entire share capital of Patrick (Holdings) Limited. This company traded as Patricks of Durham, operating the Vauxhall franchise in Durham, Co Durham.
• In April 2011 we welcomed SEAT Barnsley to our portfolio bring the total number of SEAT dealerships up to three.
• On 1 June 2011 we added Mazda Bristol to our portfolio, this location also offers approved Land Rover and Saab servicing.
• On 1 July 2011 the Group opened a Hyundai dealership in Peterlee. This represents the Group’s fourth Hyundai dealership.
• On 4 July 2011 the Group also opened a new Nissan dealership in Glasgow. This operation, situated adjacent to the Group’s Glasgow Ford and Mazda operations, will encompass sales of electric vehicles, passenger and commercial vehicles in addition to a Nissan Sports Performance Centre selling the GTR and 370Z models. This is the Group’s third Nissan dealership.
• In August 2011 we expanded our Bristol Mazda dealership and welcomed three new franchises to our portfolio; Chrysler, Jeep and Saab.
• On 31 August 2011 the Group acquired the share capital of Widnes Car Centre (1994) Limited, which comprises a Nissan dealership in Widnes, Cheshire, and a mobility vehicle conversion business based in Batley, West Yorkshire.
• On 9 January 2012 the Group acquired the trade and certain assets of a Vauxhall dealership in Northampton from W Grose Northampton Limited. This acquisition brings the number of Vauxhall dealerships operated by the Group to 11.