Stoneacre Motor Group has followed-up its January acquisition of Nottingham’s Chris Variava dealership complex with the completion of a deal to secure Burrows Motor Company's Hyundai and Fiat franchises in Sheffield.

The Thorne-based AM100 retailer completed the acquisition of the Penistone Road, Sheffield, operation this week to double its representation with the South Korean brand and take its number of Fiat sites to 16.

Burrows managing director Steve Burrows told AM: “We’d had the site for five and a half years and things just weren’t working out for us. It makes a lot more sense for Stoneacre, which has 16 Fiat sites already in the group.”

The move leaves the Burrows group with four Toyota sites, and one franchised site each with Kia, Mazda and Hyundai, across South Yorkshire, as well as its Mint Cars used car business.

Stoneacre has added the Sheffield Hyundai franchise in Sheffield to the one it currently operates a in Chesterfield.

It has operated that site since its acquisition as part of Huntson Holdings’ Autoworld Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Fiat, Hyundai, Suzuki, Seat and Volvo at a multi-franchise autopark in October of that year.

Commenting on the Burrows Hyundai and Fiat acquisition Stoneacre managing director, Shaun Foweather, said: “We already represent Hyundai in Chesterfield and after prior consultation with senior representatives of Hyundai Motor UK Ltd we are delighted that Stoneacre were chosen for extended representation of the franchise.

"The Sheffield opportunity is a great fit for us as it is an adjoining territory and gives us the ability to share best practice to ensure we meet the manufacturer’s expectations and provide the very best customer experience.

"We understand fully the concerns that staff have when a business is sold, we have lots of experience and always ensure that the new team have the opportunity to meet the Stoneacre board of directors and senior management and allow them to ask any questions, nothing is off limits in these circumstances as it can be quite traumatic for many.

"We met all of the team prior to contract exchange and we are really excited to be working with such an experienced team.

"I would like to welcome the whole team to the Stoneacre family, we intend to provide them with full head office support, training through the Stoneacre Training Academy and full integration into the Stoneacre culture to ensure that customer satisfaction is further enhanced under the Stoneacre brand.”

Last month Stoneacre added Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Alfa Romeo and Jeep franchises – all at one location – to its portfolio with the acquisition of the Chris Variava business for an undisclosed sum.

And the group continues to pursue an ambition to become a £1 billion turnover business by 2020, franchise and development director Philip Wade encouraging dealer groups, owner drivers and potential franchise partners to get in touch if they wished to become a potential acquisition target.

Wade said that discussions surrounding further potential acquisitions would be carried out in “complete confidence”.

Stoneacre currently stands 16th in the AM100 and represents 20 franchises in 85 locations while employing over 2,500 people.

Last month the group reported that there was “ample opportunity for growth” after reporting a 28.5% increase in turnover and pre-tax profits up by 29.5% during its 2017 financial year.

The South Yorkshire-based group, which has targeted a £1 billion turnover by 2020, achieved a turnover of £721 million (2016: £561m) and pre-tax profit of £7.9 million (2016: £6.1m) in the reporting period to April 30, 2017, and expects that to rise to £800 million in the period to the end of April this year.