Sytner has sold four of its 12 Volkswagen sites to Midlands-based franchised dealer group, Johnsons Cars, for an undisclosed sum.

The move takes Johnsons to nine Volkswagen franchises and a total franchise count of 42 from a mix of brands. Johnsons has been growing over recent years mainly through new openings although it has had other acquisitions including T H White in Swindon last year.

The sites bought by Johnsons are in Liverpool, Stoke, Stafford and Warrington.

Privately owned Johnsons, which was founded in 1999, had a turnover of £432 million in 2018, up 20% on the previous year.

The sale leaves Sytner with seven Volkswagen sites, four in Yorkshire, one in Llandudno and two in Belfast. Their Halifax Volkswagen site, not part of the remaining four in Yorkshire, is due to close at the end of November.

The acquisition by Johnsons follows other changes in the VW network including Group 1’s purchase of four VW sites from Inchcape earlier this year.