The group has been building on its success since then, with a pre-tax profit of just over £1m in 2012 and return on sales of 1.7%. 

It has been profitable every year since it started, no matter how hard the business and its customers have been pressured by the UK economy.

Vantage is very retail focused and is currently out-performing the Toyota national average for sales versus objective and it is in the top three for customer satisfaction in the UK.

Manufacturer relationships

Toyota is the brand which gave Robinson his start and Vantage will develop with it because of the bond that has grown over time.

Robinson said: “We’ve got total belief in the brand which is why we continue to invest with it.

"The product line-up in terms of the positioning in the UK has been disappointing in the past few years.

"However, there has been a big global change with Akio Toyoda at the head of the business who is focused on making desirable products that are fun to drive.

“The new Auris was well overdue, but it’s such a shift from the previous generation. It’s a vehicle which is desirable and a shift has been made with the new RAV4 too.”

Toyota introduced a new plan 18 months ago which is about putting fun and excitement back into the product range.

It has been delivering with products like the GT86 coupé.

White said: “Manufacturer relationships are key. If you don’t have them you don’t have a business.”

Robinson added: “Toyota has consistently demonstrated through challenges like the recall and tsunami that it is a responsible manufacturer that genuinely cares about its network and customers.”

Robinson sits on the dealer sales and marketing committee with Toyota and helps to develop marketing programmes across the network with the brand.

He is now vice-chairman of the national Toyota dealer council and will become chairman in 2015.

He said: “I feel passionate about being able to work with Toyota and the leadership are all accessible and they listen.”

But how did Toyota feel when “the H-word” was mentioned?

Robinson said: “It wasn’t a surprise when we took on Hyundai because we have always adopted a no-surprises policy with its management team.

“We meet with it formally twice a year and review the performance of the businesses.

“During those discussions we always talk about our future plans and we have explained that we want to develop with Toyota, but we need to look at other opportunities with other brands providing they fit our criteria.

“It knew who we were talking to before we agreed to purchase the Hyundai business and we wanted its blessing.

"There was never any confrontation because of the relationship we have.”

Everything Vantage is doing is fully disclosed to its brand partners and Robinson believes “involvement equals buy-in”.

He said he has seen some peers in the industry make mistakes with not being open enough with how they have looked to expand.

The Hyundai senior management team are well known to Robinson because most, including president and chief executive Tony Whitehorn, are ex-Toyota management.

Robinson said: “We knew Tony very well already because of his links with Toyota.

"When we set out our strategy for growth we knew we only wanted to align ourselves with a small group of manufacturers that have a vision for growth in the UK.

“Clearly the Koreans fit that profile.

It was also important for us to demonstrate to ourselves that we were capable of doing something successful outside of Toyota.”

It’s been a big challenge for the group. The first opportunity to take on Hyundai has been in a challenging market in Manchester.

The business in Salford has been operating under Vantage for two years and is now providing a positive profitable financial contribution to the business. All dealerships within the group are profitable.