Scottish group Arnold Clark has confirmed to AM it is in discussions to acquire John R Weir Group.

Arnold Clark told AM: “We confirm that John R Weir Group is currently in discussions with Arnold Clark Automobiles about the possible acquisition of the business and, subject to the outcome of these discussions, an announcement will be made in due course.”

John R. Weir is a family owned company which represents Mercedes-Benz, Smart, Kia, Subaru, Isuzu and Chrysler across six trading locations in the east of Scotland.

The possible acquisition announcement follows on from Arnold Clark’s recent expansion into England after it bought new Vauxhall dealerships in Kendal and Morecombe which are expected to add £20 million annually.

John R Weir recently posted pre-tax profits which fell from £424,000 to £249,000 in the year ended October, 31.
However, sales were up from £91.5 million to £92.1m last year.

According to a report in The Scotsman the group’s profits were squeezed by smaller margins on new and used cars.

John R Weir key stats (Source: AMi)