LEEDHAMS, one of the oldest established family-owned car dealerships in York, has been sold in a secret deal, it was revealed today.

The buyer is the Sanderson Bramall Motor Group, the Harrogate-based car dealers with an estimated £843.5 million turnover.

Tony Bramall, chairman of the company, today assured Leedhams employees, who number more than 100, that their jobs are safe at what will continue to be a Vauxhall dealership.

His operations manager, Lionel Fowler, said: "It's business as usual. We are only as good as the people who work here. Without them, we are dead."

Both sides are staying tight-lipped about the cash details of the takeover but, according to Bramalls, last year Leedhams had a turnover of £30 million and net assets of about £2 million.

Iain Leedham, 33, whose father, John, died four years ago, described the sale as "very, very sad," and blamed the move on "the stormclouds gathering over the motor industry" and the downward pressure on car prices.

He said smaller independent firms like his own would in future find it difficult to compete with the buying power direct from the manufacturers of the likes of the 60-dealership Bramall's, whose savings through economy of scale could be passed on to the customer.

He added: "I wanted to take the business forward, but I felt I had no alternative. I had to sell in the best interests of my employees and the shareholders."

The deal, which for days both sides refused to confirm, brings to an end the Leedham family connection which began in 1924 when Iain's great grandfather, Thomas Leedham, bought JB Beale & Co on the Ouse-side site now occupied by CGNU. It will remain as Leedhams for the next six months before its new group name kicks in.

Only two years ago, Leedhams spent nearly £1 million on a brand new centre of operations in Malton Road, near Monks Cross. This, along with a body shop in Osbaldwick and a stores centre in Redeness Street, York, are all included in the purchase deal.

But Leedhams shareholders have formed a holding company to maintain ownership of the garage's prime site in Rougier Street.

Mr Bramall said his company will rent the premises for the next three years, after which it plans to invest between £750,000 and £1 million on a new satellite operation somewhere in the south west of the city, although they do not have a specific site in mind at this stage.

The Leedhams operation will be the ninth Vauxhall dealership owned by the PLC "and one of the better dealerships in the stable".

He added: "York is a good geographical fit. There is one franchise in Middlesbrough, another in Wakefield. We also have a used vehicle facility at Sanderson Motor House on Clifton Moor."

PICTURE: Tony Bramall (right), chairman of Sanderson Bramall, with Robin Johnson, of Eversheds solicitors, who acted for the company