Approved Car Finance (ACF), the nationwide network of specialist car dealerships providing vehicles to customers with poor or no credit history, is to open two new regional centres and create more than 20 jobs.

ACF is to open combined regional offices and vehicle retail sites in Hampshire and Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the first quarter of this year.

"We are in the final stages of confirming the locations in both Newcastle-on-Tyne and the Southampton-Portsmouth areas, but we expect to be able to make an announcement in later this month," said Gary Hawkins, managing director of ACF.

"We have eight regional centres in England and Wales, and the two new locations mean we will have almost complete coverage of the major conurbations and markets. We will be creating at least 10 jobs at each centre, and we're recruiting management, sales and administration people,” said Hawkins.

ACF is expecting to sell up to 100 cars a month from each of the new centres.

ACF now has regional centres in Bristol (serves South, SW and South Wales), Dunstable (Home Counties), Isleworth (London), Larkfield (Kent and South East), Leeds (Yorkshire and NE), Manchester (NW and North Wales), Mansfield (East Midlands) and Walsall (North and West Midlands).