In a pre-close trading update, the group said its new car sales in the private sector during the September to January period rose 10.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis against a national increase of 0.8 per cent.

Year-on-year used car sales rose 29.4 per cent during the same period, buoyed by the launch of a new website and a strong showing from its Motor Nation car supermarket business. Vertu said new car orders during the all-important plate-change month of March remained on schedule and it was confident of a successful month of trading and confident of gaining market share in the year ahead. It said in a statement: “Whilst the group is aware of the challenging market conditions in the UK, it looks forward to continuing to gain market share and to delivering against its stated strategy in the year ahead.”