An AM100 franchised dealer group has expanded with Vauxhall following its takeover of a Chelmsford-based group.

Cambria Automobiles today announced the £4.1m acquisition of County Motor Works, a Chelmsford-based franchised dealer serving the Vauxhall, Alfa Romeo and Chrysler-Jeep brands.

Financed from Cambria's own resources, the transaction includes acquisition freehold assets totalling £2.9 million and no goodwill.

County Motor Works marks a further step towards Vauxhall and Alfa Romeo becoming primary brand partners with Cambria and the addition of Chrysler-Jeep to its portfolio.

It also sees Cambria creep further into Essex - it already has one dealership, representing Jaguar and Aston Martin, at Brentwood.

The acquisition follows the recent completion of the integration and refurbishment of Doves Vauxhall Southampton, Cambria's first Vauxhall site, acquired in 2012 from Hartwell.

County Motor Works has historically been loss making, said Cambria, however the acquisition is expected to be earnings neutral at the group level in its first full year of trading.

Mark Lavery, chief executive of Cambria (pictured) said: "We are delighted to have acquired County Motor Works and continue to work alongside Vauxhall, Alfa Romeo and Chrysler-Jeep to identify opportunities to extend our partnership in line with our buy and build strategy.

"We have now completed nine acquisitions since we formed the group in 2006 and represent 16 brands across 42 franchised outlets representing a balanced portfolio with a strong mix of prestige / high luxury and volume businesses."

County Motor Works was a family-owned group, operated by the grandchildren of its founder JW Austin who first traded in 1907. It has represented General Motors since 1913.