REG Vardy has picked up another firm of motor distributorships to bring its total outlets to 77.

For #18.8m it is buying Caledonia Motor Group which has 12 dealerships, including four in Scotland. These are two Renault units in East Kilbride and Glasgow and Vauxhall outlets in Ardrossan and Kilmarnock.

The deal follows the #36m purchase of the Trust Group in Scotland six months ago. Vardy's strategy is to build up local groups of dealerships to increase its buying power with manufacturers and enable competitive deals to be offered to customers.

Vardy will now invest more in marketing and used car stocks to raise Caledonia's sales. Its sites are said to be well located geographically.

Caledonia had sales of #88m in 1997 and made profits before tax of #902,000. The purchase price is based on net asset value.