CAR dealer Reg Vardy has confirmed it is buying a number of Jaguar and Land Rover dealerships from rival Dutton Forshaw.

The announcement of the £9m deal - revealed in The Northern Echo earlier this month - came at the group's annual meeting yesterday.

It will see Jaguar in Newcastle and Land Rover dealerships in Stockton, Durham and Tyneside join the Vardy stable, taking the total number of dealerships held by the group to 82. It completes the group's North-East dominance of the two brands and gives it an estimated seven per cent of the marques' new vehicle volumes in the UK.

Reg Vardy has been fiercely acquisitive this year, with 11 dealerships already bought.

In January, Reg Vardy paid Arriva £7.2m for two Perth dealerships - one Jaguar, one Land Rover - and a further Land Rover site in Cupar, Fife.

That was followed in May by the £4m acquisition of Land Rover and Jaguar dealerships, in Edinburgh, from Lancaster plc.

A further six car showrooms for other marques were bought this year for more than £7.5m.

Reg Vardy also owns the former Appleyard Land Rover dealership in Edinburgh.

All Jaguar and Land Rover sites north of the border have been rebranded under the Rossleigh banner.

The deal with Dutton Forshaw will be signed on Wednesday - the date block exemption laws are introduced.

The change in the law will prevent manufacturers from exercising a veto over who can act as authorised dealers.

Sir Peter Vardy, chief executive, said that he believed that the company was well placed to benefit from the new legislation.

He has said that he will use this to his advantage as the firm pushes towards his goal of having 100 dealerships by April 2005.