Derby-based car supermarket Motorpoint has expanded into East Anglia with the acquisition of the Mega Car retail site in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.

The five-acre outlet, close to the A1 motorway, brings the number of sites owned by Motorpoint to five.

The exact value of the multi-million pound acquisition has not been announced but Motorpoint managing director David Shelton calls it “a very significant development” for the company.

“We have been searching for the right site in the south of the country for many months and the Peterborough location fitted our requirements exactly. It will boost sales at Motorpoint to over 40,000 vehicles each year,” he adds.

Shelton says the new site has the capacity to stock more than 1,000 new and nearly new cars. It is expected to boost group sales of cars and vans by 20% over the coming 12 months.

The site, based in the heart of the city’s motor trade district, began trading as Motorpoint on December 4. It has 17,000sq ft of covered showroom, offices, valeting and servicing facilities.

Mega Car was launched in September by Mark Kass, ex-Lookers board member and founder of the Mark Kass Nissan and Toyota group.

When AM spoke to Kass in August, he said the Mega Car venture would sell 1,800 cars in its first year, on a turnover of £25m. In three year’s time this would grow to 3,000 cars and £40m turnover.

Kass had intended the Peterborough site to be head office for the Mega Car business, which he planned to expand. Areas such as Colchester, Bedford and Ipswich were under consideration.

He says he had no plans to sell the business so soon, but was approached by an agency representing Motorpoint. The deal was signed just five weeks later.

Kass claims he has been offered a position as executive vice president for the Nissan distributor in Saudi Arabia, but is undecided whether to take the job. “There are a few franchised dealers in the UK that won’t stand another rise in the interest rate,” he adds.

“I’m in a fortunate position of being able to strike if the opportunity arises.”

Founded in 1998, Motorpoint has five car supermarkets across the UK: Derby, Burnley, Glasgow, Newport and now Peterborough.

In the first half of this year the group increased sales by 5%. Motorpoint says it has now sold a car to a customer in every postcode in the UK.

The new site is likely to take group turnover to around £350m.