Birmingham and the Midlands have been described as “the heartbeat” of fast growing vehicle retailer Vertu Motors.

Chief executive Robert Forrester ackowledged the importance of the company’s Midland base as Vertu, parent company of Bristol Street Motors, reported a 22 per cent rise in revenue, an increase in the number of dealerships and payment of a dividend to shareholders for the first time.

Established in 1996 Vertu is going onwards and upwards in terms of expansion. It ended the year in February with 75 outlets nationwide, up from 59, and it has already added another two since then, with more acquisitions in the pipeline.

Revenues were up by around £180 million from 2010 to almost £1 billion, with profit before tax of £5.3m – up more than 13 per cent on 2010.

Mr Forrester said: “I think we have got a nice business and have got a strategy of expansion which is delivering us profit improvements.

“We have a fantastic managemnt team and some very high performing people within the group.

“We are a Midlands-based business, 39 out of 77 outlets are within the East or West Midlands.

“Bristol Street Motors is the heartbeat of our business in Birmingham and the Midlands.

“I think the West Midlands has seen a return of confidence and our Birmingham businesses have been performing very well in the last six months.

“We went through a bit of a rocky time when the automotive business was doing poorly but there are a lot of positives.

“I’m not saying we are in an economic boom but we are clawing our way out.

“The positive effect of Jagualr Land Rover on the West Midlands cannot be understated.”

Mr Forrester admitted the year had been difficult due to the conclusion of the Government’s scrappage scheme – which led to a surge in new car sales – ending in April 2010.

“Scrappage helped the industry massively but we were then in a position where we saw the market go backwards. From May onwards we were back in open terrritory,” he said.

Vertu Motors has a diverse portfolio selling cars, vans, commercial vehicles and motorbikes.

Manufacturing partners are Ford, Vauxhall, Peugeot, Renault, Honda, Mazda, Citroen, SEAT, IVECO, Hyundai, Nissan, Fiat, Mitsubishi, Chevrolet and Alfa Romeo.

New brands for Vertu in the last 12 months include Nissan, Alfa Romeo and Mitsubishi and further expansion in this regard is also high on the agenda, possibly even a move into premium brands.

“There will be more expansion and premium brand territory is something we will start to think about,” said Mr Forrester.

“We have now got a stable, well established business, clearly we are very financially sound and I think we can consider that move.”

As far as the payment of a dividend goes Mr Forrester said: “We have just announced a three per cent final dividend and we will be looking to increase that. I think it is an important component of delivering shareholder value.”

The last year has also seen successes in after sales, which along with used car sales has been buoyant. Though new car sales might still be slow Vertu saw an increase of 1.2 per cent against a general market decline of 10.5 per cent.

Used car sales were up by 7.1 per cent in a market that was otherwise flat.

“Aftersales is very important and clearly we have had wins in aftersales when the risk was we could go backwards,” added Mr Forrester.

“Although Halfords said people were deferring spending on servicing we had a number of strategies. The fundamental thing is when a customer comes in do they have a good experience?”

Mr Forrester admitted challenges lie ahead, one being a difficulty in supplying Japanese vehicles in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami – something that “hasn’t started yet” and will only be fully felt between now and September.

But plans for further growth look rosy thanks to a robust balance sheet position with net cash of £13.6 million and debt capacity of £35 million, meaning further expansion can take place using existing resources.

“We have got a strong and steady plan of growth and good opportunities and look forward to growing the group within the next six months,” he added. “We are a very stable business in terms of management and have a significant amount of cash and debt capacity which is a strong position to find ourselves in.”