The group, which floated on the AIM in December, began trading under the Bristol Street name when it bought the group's 35 outlets for £40m in March 2007.

In its debut interim results – covering the period from 27 March to 31 August - Vertu reported like-for-like growth in new volumes in the Bristol Street dealerships of 8.4 per cent and used sales growth of 12.4 per cent.

Chief executive Robert Forrester, who formerly headed up Reg Vardy before Pendragon bought it in 2006, said: “The staff are crucial. We could not achieve our objectives without a first class team.” In a period excluding the peak plate-change trading months of March and September Vertu posted operating profit before exceptionals of £900,000 and pre-tax profit of £700,000 on turnover of £290.3m.

Forrester claimed the group's new car sales to retail customers in its acquired businesses rose 13.6 per cent in September year-on-year. Used sales were up 7.8 per cent. For a full-year Forrester predicted turnover to reach £700m with pre-tax profit of £1.2m. Since taking on Bristol Street, Vertu has subsequently expanded its operation to include 42 franchised and five non-franchised businesses – making it the tenth largest dealer group in the UK.