Scottish dealer group Peter Vardy has launched a fund to support local youth projects.

The company has pledged to give 10% of its annual net profits to charitable causes.

To determine how these proceeds should be best distributed, the company has launched the Peter Vardy Charitable Fund (PVCF) with an initial £100,000 investment.

The PVCF will be run by a board of trustees which will meet regularly to review all funding applications that support underprivileged young people in communities across Scotland where Peter Vardy runs dealerships. Currently this includes Motherwell, Perth, Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh.

The trustees will consider two categories for funding: applications of over £1K and ones for under £1K.

Peter Vardy said: “Launching this fund has been a major goal of mine since setting up the business in 2006. One of the key objectives for the company from the on-set was to ensure we do things differently and make a genuine difference through what we do.

"We are especially keen to reach out to young people in low income families and those with disability. We are now looking to get applications from relevant groups and projects which could use our help.

He added: “It’s a motivating factor for our entire team, knowing that the growth of the fund will be linked to the success of the company. We now look forward to supporting local groups which will deliver beneficial projects to support young people in our communities.”

Peter Vardy is currently running an appeal for Cambodia with Hagar International which has already raised nearly £50,000 this year for a community learning centre for under-privileged children in the south east Asian country.