Batemans Toyota changes hands
A TOYOTA dealership in Cumbriahas been bought by the Harrogate-based Meridian Motor Group.
It has acquired Batemans Toyota at Grange-over-Sands on the edge of the Lake District for an undisclosed sum.
Meridian, which has 10 Toyota centres, will trade the site as Vantage Toyota.
It will continue to operate from the current location in Station Square but plans to move to make way for a Booths supermarket.
Mark Robinson, the founder and managing director of Meridian Motor Group, said: “We are delighted to announce this latest acquisition. It extends our Vantage brand into a new but complementary geographic region and fits in well with the ambitious expansion plans we have for the group. We are very proud to be one of the largest Toyota partners in the UK.
“We put a high value on providing our customers with great vehicles and outstanding service and we look forward to delivering the same to existing and new customers in this new area.”
Ian Worth, the chairman of Batemans Toyota, said: “We are pleased that the business is being transferred into the ownership of Vantage Toyota which is a well respected operator within the Toyota network already operating from sites in Lancashire and Yorkshire.
“Our customers can be assured that the high levels of service they have experienced in the past will be maintained.”
The deal follows the acquisition of four West Midlands dealerships and the development of a new site in Scarborough. Meridian Motor Group was founded in 2003 by Mark Robinson with the purchase of two Toyota centres, in Knaresborough and York and an accident repair centre in Knaresborough.
Meridian was advised by Ian Gilbert, Joy Irving, Judith Pike and Charlotte Harris of law firm Walker Morris.
