John Grose’s Subaru outlet in Woodbridge, Suffolk is now fully operational, five months after the group acquired the dealership from Edmondsons.

Edmondsons had begun talks with Subaru earlier in the year, but went into administration before the franchise deal could be signed. John Grose then purchased the outlet, together with Edmondsons’ Rover outlet in Ipswich.

Ian Twinley, John Grose chairman, says: “Subaru is absolutely the right fit for this rural community.”

He expects to sell 100 new and 100 used cars over the next 12 months.

John Grose, whose headquarters are in Lowestoft, told AM in August that it intended to become a £120m turnover business by the end of 2006.

However, Twinley now says this is unlikely to happen. “It will more likely be in the region of £100m and is mainly due to the fact that our acquisitions this year did not come through fast enough,” he adds.

At the start of the year, John Grose operated only five Ford franchises across East Anglia. It has since added Kia in Lowestoft, and ChryslerJeep and Dodge in Ipswich, as well as its acquisitions from Edmondsons.