A joint venture company formed by 20 private dealer groups in January aimed at using economy of scale to tackle trading pressures has recruited two more members.

John Grose Group in East Anglia and Haynes of Maidstone are the latest additions to the Retail Automotive Alliance, giving it a nominal combined turnover of £2.4bn.

Alliance chairman Philip Maskell says work is progressing towards its aim of signing approved partners and suppliers to the entire organisation.

“Our priority has been to identify key supply projects and appoint project leaders, who will work together with myself and the chief executive Paul Knight,” he says.

Thanks to its high-profile launch, reported in AM in January, the alliance has been approached by a large number of suppliers. “People recognise it as an opportunity to get on board with the RAA at an early point. Most are very positive if they can get some market share – it’s very effective for them to deal with 22 individual dealer groups through the central hub,” he adds.

Although Maskell will not discuss which suppliers the alliance is in talks with, he says the projects will include ‘big ticket items’ such as lubricants, finance house agreements and showroom furnishings. The strategy is a premium approved supplier route. If they qualify they can then be proposed for a global supply agreement.