Co-op Motors completes £5.5m sale
THE Co-op’s car dealership arm has completed the £5.5m sale of three showrooms to Vertu.
Gateshead-based Vertu has paid £1.6m up front with the remaining £3.9m to follow over the next three years.
The sale leaves the Co-operative Motor Group with six dealerships in Bradford, Leeds, Keighley, Nottingham and Guiseley, where there are two.
Vertu’s chief executive Robert Forrester said: “With this transaction we are welcoming 200 new colleagues to the group.
“We are confident that their skills and expertise in providing an outstanding customer motoring experience will help us to grow our sales and profits in the years to come.”
Vertu Motors, which has 88 outlets across the UK, expects the new dealerships – selling Nissan, Fiat, Peugeot and Renault models – to enhance earnings next year.
Last month the Co-op said the sites no longer fitted its “long-term strategic objectives”.
