Thriving Meridian Motor Group completes seventh acquisition

FLOURISHING Yorkshire-based Meridian Motor Group has completed its seventh acquisition in six weeks.

It has bought Barnsley Honda Limited for an undisclosed figure, boosting group turnover to more than £150m and bringing the group’s total number of sites to 14 with 350 employees.

The dealership will continue as Barnsley Honda in the short term, before rebranding as part of the group’s Vantage brand, trading as Vantage Honda – Barnsley. The business is committed to future investment at the site.

Mark Robinson, founder and managing director of Meridian Motor Group, said: “As well as a significant new acquisition to strengthen our business, this deal will represent the first part of what we believe will be a strong and developing relationship with Honda UK. In Honda we recognise a brand that has a similar ambition to ourselves and this partnership represents good business sense as we look to grow further in the coming months.

“We have been in discussions with Honda for several years but this represents the first opportunity we have had to bring these plans to fruition. We are passionate about the brand and excited about their vision for the future.”

Meridian was advised on the acquisition by Ian Gilbert and his team from Walker Morris and Grant Thornton in Leeds.

Following the deal, Meridian Motor Group which is headquartered in Harrogate, will count Toyota, Hyundai, Lexus, Kia and Honda among its key brands.

This deal follows a summer of acquisitions for Meridian, which has seen seven new sites and three new marques added to the business. In June the group, currently marking its 10th anniversary, purchased four West Midlands dealerships and announced the development of a new Kia site in Scarborough. This was followed by the acquisition earlier this month, of Batemans Toyota in the Lake District.

The group will now sell in excess of 10,000 new and used cars each year, with the Barnsley site expected to contribute annual sales of 600 units.

Phil Crossman, managing director of Honda UK, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Vantage to Honda, we’ve had a long standing relationship with Mark Robinson and given their recent growth, we are confident we will have a successful future together.”