Karl Vella Group, the North West’s leading accident repair group, has just added its fifth site with the acquisition of County Coachbuilders Automotive Ltd in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.
County Coachbuilders is a 24,000 square foot bodyshop with an annual turnover of £1.75m, which takes the Group’s annual turnover to almost £12m. The site has the capability to repair over 50 vehicles per week, giving the Group an extended repair capacity of over 300 vehicles per week.
As well as being BSI Kitemark accredited, the bodyshop holds a number of manufacturer approvals including Mercedes, Peugeot and Renault, in addition to a range of highly regarded volume insurance approvals.
Commenting on the acquisition, David Vella, Operations Director of Karl Vella Group said: “We are really pleased with the purchase of County Coachbuilders, which significantly strengthens our proposition as a North West accident repair network. This is the first in a number of exciting developments within the Karl Vella Group that we will be announcing during 2011.”
David continued: “We’re very much looking forward to working with County Coachbuilders’ longstanding clients to deliver enhanced service levels coupled with the cost savings that come from our innovative repair processes.”
County Coachbuilders’ coverage extends across Cumbria into Carlisle in the North and Lancaster in the South, joining up with the areas serviced by Karl Vella Group’s existing bodyshop sites in Preston, Skelmersdale, Blackburn and Southport.