An independent West Midland car dealer has been bought in a £1million deal.
Coleshill-based Rybrook Group stepped in to acquire BMW supplier Robert Stern, which employs 100.
“The owners of Robert Stern felt the best way forward was to be part of a larger group while Rybrook has been able to add to its considerable presence in the West Midlands,” said Martin Coyne of Birmingham business advisers Poppleton & Appleby, who organised the sale.
“We are delighted the sale has gone through successfully,” he added.
The deal is likely to be one of many in which independents – fighting to survive as sales of new cars plunge – are taken over or go to the wall, analysts believe.
The trend bears out a report by Ernst & Young last January which predicted the motor retail industry was set for one of its worst ever periods. The report pointed out despite rising new car sales in 2007, 49 per cent of small and medium dealerships reported annual losses while 75 per cent of bigger rivals increased profits.
