"The new site makes a network for Listers, which has Volkswagen van centres in Coventry and Warwick. "

Greenhous Group has acquired its first Volkswagen van franchise with the purchase of a site at Shrewsbury from the Walkmill Group. 

The move extends Greenhous’s light commercial vehicle interests, placing the VW van centre alongside its Vauxhall and LDV sites.

The Walkmill Group was founded two years ago when Hartshorne Van Services completed a management buyout.
The other two Volkswagen van centres it bought were at Birmingham and nearby Bilston, and all three were rebranded Walkmill. 

Brian Bachelor, Walkmill’s group operations director, was previously a shareholder of Hartshorne Motor Services. He relinquished his stake in 2006 to invest in the van business, becoming its majority shareholder.

Ray Coates, of Greenhous Group, said: “We are in a strong position to move the business forward because of the relationships we have spent years growing with our retail and fleet customers.”

A Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles spokesman said there were other new investments in its network of van centres and authorised repairers.

One was the appointment of Listers Van Service Centre as a new authorised repairer at Stratford-upon-Avon, with Listers Group investing around £30,000 in new equipment, tools and training.

The new site makes a network for Listers, which has Volkswagen van centres in Coventry and Warwick. 

Duncan Sands, head of operations at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said: “We are impressed with the continued confidence and investment in the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles business by our van centres.”

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