Vertu Regulatory News (VTU)

30 Aug 2007 07:00

Vertu Motors PLC30 August 2007 30th August 2007 Vertu Motors plc AGM Statement At today's First Annual General Meeting of Vertu Motors plc, Chief Executive,Robert Forrester, will make the following statement: "I am pleased to report in this first trading statement by Vertu Motors plc thatyour Company has made good progress towards its strategic goals in the period. The Company was formed in late 2006 to take advantage of opportunities inacquiring and consolidating businesses within the UK motor retail sector. In2007, the Company has successfully concluded four acquisitions, with tradecommencing on completion of the acquisition of Bristol Street Motors on 27 March2007. The Company now operates 46 dealerships and, on a turnover basis, is thetenth largest motor retailer in the UK. A strong management team has now been assembled and the Board believes these keyappointments will enable future growth and performance improvement to bedelivered. Similarly, significant management changes have taken place atdealership level where acquired dealerships were considered to beunderperforming. The Board believes that these changes have been largelycompleted and we expect to see the resulting performance improvements. Cost savings have been achieved in line with our plans through the closure ofthe former head offices of Bristol Street Motors and the Blakes Group. Headoffice functions are now located in Newcastle upon Tyne. In addition, progresscontinues to be made in using the greater scale of the Group to obtain betterpurchasing terms. Good progress has been made in improving the internet presence of our corebrands, "Bristol Street Motors" and "Motor Nation". A new internet offeringwill be launched in September and a contact centre is being created inSunderland to handle all the contacts generated. The Board envisages that thisnew, centralised, internet strategy will help the Group to achieve its objectiveof increasing the level of new and used car sales going forward. Property disposals Currently we have surplus properties with estimated proceeds and book value ofaround £12 million. A number of these properties are conditionally contractedfor sale. The Board envisages that a number of these disposals will becompleted in the first half of 2008. These anticipated funds will be usedinitially to reduce Group debts but they will also add to our capacity to makeacquisitions in the future. Commercial vehicles The overall commercial vehicle market has seen growth in van registrations butsignificant declines in the year to date in registrations of heavy trucks. TheGroup operates three Iveco dealerships and nationally Iveco has under performedagainst other franchises. Heavy truck registrations for Iveco nationallydeclined 20.8% in the April to July period and light commercials declined8.4%. This has been reflected in our dealership performance although orderlevels have improved in recent weeks. Car market National new car registrations in the January to July period have risen 2.4%.Growth has reduced since March with national registrations in the Company'speriod of trading from April to the end of July rising 1.5% for privatecustomers and 2.3% for business customers. On a like-for-like basis for BristolStreet Motors' dealerships for the period from April to July, new car volumessold to private customers rose 7.8% year on year. This excellent performancehas been aided by new model launches in a number of our franchises together withstrong consumer offers and has been achieved without any pre-registration of newvehicles. The United Kingdom used car market in 2007 has remained flat in terms ofvolumes. In contrast, Bristol Street Motors' dealerships acquired on 27 March2007 increased used car volumes on a like-for-like basis by 8.0% in the periodApril to July. Since March 2007 used car values have reduced at a steeper ratethan in the previous twenty-four months, which has put margins under pressure. Outlook Given the Company's first trading period to February 2008 excludes the mostsignificant trading month of March, the importance to the period's result of theperformance of the Group in the second largest trading month of September isevident. However, with the integration of the acquired businesses progressingwell, the Board remains confident about the Group's prospects for the currentfinancial year." - Ends - For further information please contact: Robert Forrester, CEO, Vertu Motors plc, Tel: 0191 206 4617 Andrew Kitchingman, Brewin Dolphin Securities, Tel: 0845 270 8613 Jonathon Brill/Billy Clegg/Edward Westropp, Financial Dynamics, Tel: 020 7831 3113 Notes to editors Vertu Motors is the 10th largest motor retailer in the United Kingdom with 46dealerships forming a national network across England, operating under theBristol Street Motors brand. Manufacturing partners include Citroen, Ford,Iveco, Honda, Peugeot, Renault and Vauxhall. Vertu Motors was established in November 2006 with the aim of consolidating theUK motor retail sector. The company listed on AIM in December 2006 and raised£25m. The Executive Directors are experienced within the sector, havingpreviously held senior positions within Reg Vardy and CD Bramall. In March 2007, the Group acquired the 13th largest motor retailer in the UnitedKingdom, Bristol Street Motors. In the summer of 2007, Vertu acquired BlakeHoldings, Grantham Motor Company Limited and a Ford dealership in Morpeth,Northumberland. It is intended that the Company will continue to acquire motor retail operationsin the form of franchised dealerships and used car only operations. TheCompany's acquisition strategy is supplemented by a focussed organic growthstrategy to drive operational efficiencies through the national network. www.vertumotors.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange