Two Spar wholesalers have acquired major store groups totalling more than 90 sites.

James Hall & Co, the Spar wholesaler for the north of England, has acquired North East Convenience Stores (NECS), a 30-store multi award winning family owned chain based in the North East of England.

The Vadhera brothers, Naveen and Sanjeev, have agreed to the sale of their group but will remain with NECS as executive management with NECS becoming a subsidiary of the James Hall Group of Companies.

Naveen Vadhera, managing director of NECS, said: “We are happy to have sold the business to James Hall & Co who completely understand the aspirations and ethos of NECS. We believe the synergies between the two companies will assist NECS as it continues to develop and grow over the next few years.

“Being fit for the future is the challenge for all retail groups at the moment and we believe that with the support and experience of the James Hall team and the strength of the Spar brand, NECS will be at the forefront of convenience retailing in the years to come.”

Sanjeev Vadhera, financial director of NECS, added: “Both Naveen and I are committed to convenience retailing and we look forward to seeing the NECS business thrive as part of the James Hall family under our continued management. We will be rebranding our convenience stores to Spar over the coming weeks and have an identified pipeline of new stores to open later in the year. Although there is a change of ownership, it’s strictly business as usual at NECS.”

Andrew Hall, managing director of James Hall & Co, commented: “We are delighted to have acquired such a successful and fast moving business and we welcome Naveen, Sanjeev and the 400 employees of NECS into the James Hall Group.”

And Appleby Westward, the regional distribution company servicing Spar stores in the South West, has acquired Gillett’s (Callington) which operates 63 Spar stores, located throughout Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire.

Mike Boardman, managing director of Appleby Westward, said: “We are delighted to have concluded the acquisition of this very robust family business with its excellent platform of very well-run Spar stores.”

Alan Cookson, director of Gillett’s (Callington), said: “This is a very good deal for both parties. We have worked successfully in partnership with Appleby Westward since our business was founded 32 years ago and we are especially pleased that the stores will remain part of the Spar network.”

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