Last year the business swooped to buy Cheltenham Jaguar and Land Rover - now it is at it again, picking up another well-known brand.

In three years Richard Neulaender and John Walsh have turned the formerly loss-making Heritage Automotive brand into a "highly profitable" £155 million turnover car franchise group.

Now the pair, former owners of the Colbornes motor group, have grown their Gloucestershire footprint still further, buying the Blade Motor Group and Blade Motorcycles.

Richard Neulaender said "We are really pleased to be growing our representation with the VWG Brands with additional Audi, Skoda & VW retailers.

"Whilst at the same time forming new partnerships with Seat & Honda Cars, plus the many bike manufacturers which we will be representing".

The Blade Motorcycles business, represents Aprilia, Ducati, Harley Davidson, Honda, Indian, Kawasaki, KTM, Moto Guzzi, Piaggio, Suzuki, Triumph and Yamaha across locations in Abingdon, Cheltenham, Stratford and Swindon.

"Former Blade owner Mike Flanagan was keen that the Blade business stays in private ownership and we are delighted that we've been able to help him achieve this," said Mr Neulaender.

"The Blade Group is not only a fantastic strategic and geographical fit for Heritage, but we strongly hope a cultural one also".

Paul Hrachovec, managing director of Salisbury-based Heritage Automotive, said: "We are proud to be an independently owned group, with the foundations of our success being the people we choose to work for us, the manufacturers we represent and of course our valuable customers, who are at the very heart of what we do.

"Whilst the industry has been in unusual circumstances over the past couple of years this is an exciting time ahead for us and we will continue to look for strategic acquisitions'".

Blade Motor Group's last set of published accounts, for the period ending June 30, 2017, show an operating loss of £826,206 and a turnover of £213.9 million.

Staff numbers had fallen from 469, as recorded in its accounts for the year to December 2015, to 379. It is not known what impact the new ownership will have on staffing.

The same annual set of accounts acknowledge what it called "difficult trading conditions", including the impact of Brexit, a shift in consumer preference away from diesel, a decline in car sales volumes, an increase in the minimum wage and the costs of auto-enrollment.

There were also one-off costs associated with the losses associated with its discontinued used car and Suzuki franchises.