Car dealer Gordon Lamb Group has taken over the Skoda dealership in Derby from Clock Garage.

The acquisition becomes the group's second outlet for the Volkswagen Group brand, following its introduction of Skoda at its home town of Chesterfield, and is expected to take group turnover past £80m.

It is the latest in a continuing series of changes to Skoda UK's retail network as the carmaker strives to lift standards and grow sales, which has meant strengthening partnerships with regional groups in many cases.

“Adding another Skoda site to our portfolio further increases our presence, making us the only Skoda dealer in Derbyshire, and forms part of our strategy to strengthen our brand relationships,” said chief executive Stephen Lamb.

"Skoda is an exciting brand and we are very pleased to be investing more in the brand."

The Gordon Lamb Group also owns two Toyota dealerships, one each with Land Rover, Nissan, Renault and authorised repairer locations for Jaguar and Lotus across South Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

As part of the deal, the Gordon Lamb Group will eventually relocate the Skoda business from its current premises to a purpose-built multi-million pound facility in central Derby which is expected to be open in due course.

All the dealership's staff have transfered to the new owner.

Lamb said the group will now have more than 100 pre-owned Skodas in stock across the group at any point.

David Wharton, managing director of Clock Garage, said: “As the dealership passes from one local family business to another, I am confident that our customers will receive the same unrivalled levels of service under the new ownership.”

This latest deal follows Gordon Lamb's sale of its Honda site in Chesterfield to the Gilder Group in February.