Berry Group purchased Cooper BMW’s former ownership and management of Berry Thames Ditton BMW in March 2020. Excellent customer service and affordable rates on New and Approved Used BMWs are our top priorities. The knowledgeable employees at every one of our retail locations will make sure that your shopping experience is as enjoyable as possible and that the aftercare service provided while you own the product upholds these high standards.
Inchcape is in the “late stages” of selling out Cooper BMW and Mini dealerships.
James Brearley, the CEO of Inchcape UK, stated that his retail company is still “dedicated” to its BMW and Mini franchises despite having acknowledged that it is close to selling locations in the North East and Croydon.
The AM100 vehicle retail PLC informed AM that negotiations to sell five of its Cooper BMW/MINI locations, a used car lot in the northeast, and BMW/MINI Croydon to Marsh Wall, which conducts business as Berry BMW in Chiswick, were ongoing.
Along with the used car center in York, the north east sales will also comprise BMW/MINI locations in Durham, Malton, Sunderland, Teesside, and York.
In the far north east of England, Brearley stated, “These locations represent an independent business for us, and while we are satisfied with the performance of this business unit, we are unable to grow adjacently. As always, we promised to consult with our colleagues first, and we have done so already.
“Vertu Motors is the most logical selection of a top-notch operator to build the business moving ahead in this sector,”
“Therefore, we are certain that this move will be in everyone’s best interests, notably those of the committed team of people who work within the firm.”
Following rumors that Inchcape was planning to sell a number of locations last month, Vertu Motors announced that it was in talks to buy “a number of BMW dealerships.”
At the time, an Inchcape spokeswoman insisted to AM that the PLC “does not comment on conjecture.”
Commenting on the recent sales of the BMW franchises in Tunbridge Wells to Arden Group and BMW Croydon to Marsh Wall, as well as the group’s earlier acquisition of the Thames Ditton franchise, Brearley said today: “The sale of our Croydon dealership forms the latter part of our structured withdrawal from greater London and the south east. Following on from the sale of the Thames Ditton site to Berry earlier this year, I know that this will be another positive acquisition.
BMW remains a long-term strategic partner for us, and we are dedicated to our BMW businesses in East Anglia, Essex, and the Thames Valley, Brealey continued.
“Our priority for the UK retail business is to continue to deliver exceptional physical and digital customer care while maintaining our strong performance for our OEM partners.”
Over the previous 14 months, Inchcape has finished a number of vehicle dealership disposals.
The business, which is now implementing a global cost-cutting initiative with a PS90 million annualized savings objective, sold seven properties to Group 1 Automotive and Motorline in August of last year for a combined PS21 million.
It then sold Inchcape Fleet Solutions (IFS) to Toyota for PS100 million in October.
In an interview with AM in August 2019, Brearley categorically disputed that there were any plans to reduce the group’s UK retail portfolio by about a fifth and labeled the proposal as “speculation.”
Tom, a multi-award-winning news reporter, serves as the AM brand of Bauer Media’s news and features editor. His job requires him to stay up to date on all business and industry news in order to cover the franchised automotive retail sector and the larger automotive industry, as well as to help oversee the magazine’s production and AM events.
Investigate Berry Cobb BMW.
Cooper Cobham BMW was replaced by Berry Cobham BMW in 2021, and Berry is committed to offering exceptional customer service and affordable rates on new and approved used BMWs. The knowledgeable employees at every one of our retail locations will make sure that your shopping experience is as enjoyable as possible and that the aftercare service provided while you own the product upholds these high standards.