In case you didn't know...

Reg Vardy have bought all the previously Co-Op owned car dealerships.  This being Priory Motor Group.

This means Priory BMW are now Victoria (Tyneside) BMW.  The same applies for the Mini dealership on site.

The acquisition includes Vauxhall dealerships in Blaydon and Gatehead, a dual Kia/Chevrolet dealership in Gateshead and a group bodyshop in Newcastle.

Vardy's now own 3 BMW dealerships.

The purchase price was a very low one - £15.5m - as Co-Op just wanted to shed it's motor group and concentrate on retail.  Vardy's were the only group with the cash at hand...so in they went.

Bill Oliver, Managing Director of Priory Motor Group said:

"There have been colossal changes within the sector over the past two years and to compete effectively size has become increasingly important. We estimate that we would need to treble the size of our business to achieve long-term success. It is therefore in the best interests of our staff and customers in the North East to join one of the biggest groups in the UK motor trade."

Sir Peter Vardy, Chief Executive of Reg Vardy plc said:

“This is a significant acquisition for the Group. The BMW and Vauxhall dealerships represent a further strengthening of our manufacturer relationships in these prime franchises. The franchise expansion gives us the opportunity for future growth and we hope to make further announcements with regards to additional Kia representation in the near future.”

and there was me thinking vardys have taken a more reactive rather than a proactive approach to the ever demanding motor trade

it looks like i was wrong

so its a case of vardys on the charge up your way on then ???

good luck to them

dixon plc is nearly stagnent here .they have nearly out reached there growth ;with little or no more room for expansion 

with sales of new and used cars at nearly an all time peak i think it would be wise to say ;have they satuirated the market to breaking point??? and is or could there be any more room for growth in the ever competive market of car sales

perhaps mark [floody ] could shed some light on this subject lol

They always have been on the charge up here - they're from Sunderland after all.

In my experience Reg vardy dealerships are a load of cr*p.

I used the Nissan one a couple of times and they were dredfull not to mention considerably more expensive than other Nissan dealers in the area. A mate of mine used the Alfa one (in darlington?) once and was so disgusted with the service that he started using an independant instead.