This is Leicestershire --A family-owned car dealership has spent more than £1 million on a central city site ahead of potential growth.
Sturgess Motor Group has spent £1.25 million, plus VAT and stamp duty, on the former Sandicliffe Mazda site on the corner of Aylestone Road and Brazil Street, in Leicester.
The investment is part of the business's ongoing growth strategy which saw it acquire Anstey-based used car business Bond Street Select at the start of 2012. It has since reopened as Sturgess Hyundai.
The company, established in 1897, also renovated an existing Aylestone Road plot last year and transferred the business from a Nissan dealership to Hyundai.
The new Aylestone Road site is in the heart of the city's car showroom district close to a Sturgess Volvo and Alfa Romeo dealership, Sandicliffe Ford and a Farmer and Carlisle Toyota site.
Group chairman Chris Sturgess said: "The opportunity arose and this was a way of securing a premises for any eventuality that may happen in the future.
"There's a grave shortage of suitable premises for the motor trade and what we do with it all depends entirely on what opportunities present themselves.
"We know the premises because we originally converted it in the mid-70s.
"Our initial thought was a rebuild, but we soon realised it's a substantial building and could pretty much handle anything we might want to do with it, with some modifications."
Mr Sturgess said it could be a year or two before they occupied the building, which has offices and storage on the first floor and a workshop at the rear.
The site came onto the market at the start of 2012 with an asking price in excess of £1.5 million.
The Sturgess group has 250 staff in and around the city at sites selling Jaguar, Land Rover, Fiat, Suzuki, Hyundai, Alfa Romeo and Volvo.
Company accounts for the year to December 31, 2012, show the group's pre-tax profits up £200,000 to £900,000, partly due to demand for new models such as the Land Rover Evoque, Jaguar XF Sportbrake, pictured, the Volvo V40 and Fiat 500.
Turnover was also up to almost £82 million from £66 million.
Mr Sturgess said: "Last year was a reasonably good year. It was hard work – there's no question of that – but we were very fortunate with new product launches.
"It was our first full year trading with Hyundai as well.
"It's very much a business of two halves – but the premium end of the market is a good place to be and the value end is also a good place to be. We're fortunate to have a foot in both camps." Reported by This is 2 days ago.