Doors have opened on a £6million emporium to German automotive engineering in Aberdeen.
Peter Vardy this week opened its latest Porsche centre on Wellington road on the former site of a mattress factory.
It will soon be joined by what has been claimed will be the largest Land Rover and Jaguar outlet in the UK, part of the car dealership’s £30million investment in the city.
The custom-built, 24,000 square foot garage, described as a “destination dealership”, will have room to display 25 Porsches, along with a selection of car dealership boss Peter Vardy’s own personal collection of classics, including a 1966 911S and 1957 356A.
Buyers will be able to fully customise their new Porsche while relaxing in the stylish customer lounge, complete with full internet access, privacy booths and a bespoke customer bar area with La Spaziale Barista coffee machine.
Children are catered for too, with a custom built driving simulator of the iconic Porsche 911 with PS4 driving games and removable tyre challenge.
Mr Vardy said: “This is a stunning space which reflects the hard work and passion of the architects, builders, and the Peter Vardy team. We couldn’t find a dealership good enough for this brand, so we built our own. I only hope it would make Ferry Porsche proud.
“This is a destination dealership offering a unique experience, not only will you enjoy some of most beautiful cars in the world, experience one of the finest retail spaces and a customer service second to none.”
The company said the project has brought additional jobs to the area, both short and long term, with additional sales, aftersales and support staff to manage the dealership.
It is is one of four major build projects the Vardy business has brought to the Aberdeen area, including the new Jaguar Land Rover dealership due in late 2016, and the recently completed Vauxhall showroom on Lang Stracht, situated next to the newly built factory and showroom for the social enterprise business Glencraft.
The firm acquired the Glencraft site on Wellington Road site, then built the shell of the warehouse on Lang Stracht and handed a 10-year lease on the building to the social enterprise.
Over the next 18 months, Peter Vardy said it will have invested over £30million in build projects and new dealerships, creating more than 150 long term jobs and over 500 short term jobs – a £6million increase on its north-east expansion plans announced last year.
Last month, Peter Vardy said its first-half underlying profits had risen 64% to £8.7million, while turnover came in at £224million, up more than 10% year-on-year, and £100million more than the company brought in during the whole of 2014.
The company said its profitability had been boosted by “improved colleague retention, a strengthened senior team and more efficient overall trading”.
Peter Vardy Group operates six Vauxhall volume dealerships in Aberdeen, Perth, Kirkcaldy, Edinburgh, Motherwell and Dalgety Bay (Fife) and five prestige dealerships selling Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche or BMW-Mini vehicles as well as Scotland’s biggest indoor used car showroom, CarStore, at Hillington, Glasgow.