Nidd Vale Group has opened the UK's first combined Vauxhall and Saab retail site in a £3m, 3.4-acre development at Harrogate, North Yorkshire. The 40,000 sq ft showroom can display more than 200 cars.

Group chairman Richard Jackson said: “This is the company's most ambitious move since it was founded in 1920.” Nidd Vale's head office and Vauxhall outlet in the city have been moved to the site which also includes its Saab dealership which was acquired last August.

Mr Jackson said it was the first time new Vauxhalls and Saabs had been sold from the same site in the UK.

Colin Hainstock, Nidd Vale operations director, said: “The new site is strategically important.”

Dorset dealer Seward is to open a Saab/Vauxhall dealership in Christchurch as part of a £2m development.