A SURGE in demand for spare car parts has helped car dealership Lookers post record half-year figures.

Profits improved by 29% as more motorists were inclined to focus on keeping their vehicles on the road in the current economic climate.

The firm, with more than 20 dealerships across Merseyside and Cheshire, said its parts distribution division saw profits increase 21% to £5.2m.

Overall, group profits before tax and exceptional costs rose to £22.7m from £17.6m as turnover lifted 13% to £988.3m in the six months to June 30. The group said the record performance came against a background of difficult trading conditions and the end of the Government’s scrappage scheme, which propped up the car market during the worst of the recession.

The company’s motor division, which consists of 122 franchise dealerships, saw profits increase to £18.5m from £15.3m in 2009.

Lookers said the UK new car market had recovered strongly with registrations increasing by 20%, to 1.1m, during the six-month period to June.

The firm posted a 26% increase in like-for-like new car sales to 32,469, which included cars sold under the Government scrappage scheme, but added that used car sales had decreased by 6%.