CAR retail and contract hire group Ryland is continuing buy-out discussions with Wyndham Motor, the car dealership chain. Ryland will not expand on a brief statement to confirm it is in talks which could lead to a takeover bid.

Wyndham has eight new-car dealerships, based mainly in Cardiff and Newport areas, selling a range of prestige models, including Rolls-Royce and Bentley, along with Rover, Honda and Toyota. Ryland has returned a series of record financial results, most recently for the half-year to June 1998, when profits grew to £3 million from £2.8 million for the same period in 1997.