The UK’s fourth largest motor retailer could be on the verge of muscling in on Ayr’s car sales market.
Ayrshire Live can reveal that Gateshead-based Vertu Motors PLC has submitted plans to build a new Toyota dealership on land at the rear of Old Farm Road.
We can also reveal that the plans involve developing a vacant piece of land to be used as the main retail unit and includes valet building, MOT and servicing area - and as many as 360 parking spaces.
The applicants also seek to include associated hard and soft landscaping as part of the development and they have lodged their proposals with South Ayrshire Council for consideration.
There are more than 10 car dealerships already in Ayr - but if the proposals get the green light, the town’s car retail scene will swell even further.
Vertu Motors PLC was formed in 2006 and operates a nationwide chain of more than 190 franchised and non-franchised motor dealerships which offer sales, servicing, parts and bodyshop facilities for new and used cars and commercial vehicles.
These dealerships fall under the trading names Vertu Motors, Bristol Street Motors and Macklin Motors.
In their sales pitch the firm say they aim to deliver “an outstanding customer motoring experience through honesty and trust.”
In 2010, Vertu Motors expanded into Scotland, where it trades under the Macklin Motors brand.
Macklin Motors dealerships represent the likes of Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Nissan, Peugeot, Vauxhall, and Toyota.
The Vertu Motors Group is the fourth largest automotive retailer in the United Kingdom, and has been awarded numerous accolades, including Best Customer Experience at the 2019 Auto Trader Retailer Awards, Motability Website of the Year and Group Contact of the Year in 2019, and Best Used Car Online Sales Experience at the 2021 Used Car Awards.
The proposals for Old Farm Road, which show a Toyota salesroom in their designs, are listed as ‘pending consideration’ on South Ayrshire Council’s online planning portal.
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