East Anglia's biggest independent retailer has sold its second motor dealership in a fortnight.

 

The East of England Co-op has sold its Peugeot dealership in Hall Road, Norwich, to Busseys just days after selling its Peugeot dealership in King's Lynn to the Walker family.

The two deals leave the Co-operative Society with a Citroen dealership in King's Lynn and come as chief executive Richard Samson said it was "investing heavily" in its core operations, food stores and supermarkets.

The first of the two deals saw the sale of the Peugeot dealership in Hardwick Road, King's Lynn, to the Walkers, which operates Vauxhall dealerships in Nottinghamshire and North Yorkshire.

Richard Samson, chief executive of the East of England Co-op, said all 44 staff at Hall Road will transfer to Busseys.

Busseys has more than 200 employees across Norfolk and operates Ford dealerships in Norwich, Dereham, Attleborough and Fakenham, service centres in Norwich and Swaffham and a repair centre in the city.

Managing director David Bussey said: "Peugeot in Norwich represents a great addition to our existing Ford dealerships and we look forward to extending our award winning levels of customer service to all Peugeot owners in the area."

The East of England Co-op employs about 5,000 people in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex and operates 135 food stores and supermarkets across East Anglia.

Dean Bowden, managing director of Walkers, added: "We're well placed in building on the success we have had so far and look forward to the King's Lynn Peugeot business integrating well and contributing in terms of profit and volume."