8:11 am, October 28, 2024
Vertu Motors is to close its dealerships on Sundays as part of a drive to improve the work-life balance of staff.
The move will come into effect from the start of December and was confirmed by CEO Robert Forrester on Friday (Oct 25) afternoon.
It means that Vertu will follow the likes of Brindley Group, Bowker Motor Group and Barretts in halting Sunday trading for the benefit of dealership staff.
The move has also been adopted successfully by Burrows Motor Company, Sherwoods and Greenhous Group but Vertu are the biggest outfit so far to take on the approach.
Forrester says that despite the move to close dealerships, staff at the group’s main office are still likely to be required to work in order to handle calls and support customers.
He said: ‘Big announcement today internally that we intend to close all sales outlets on Sundays from 1 December.
‘This will aid work life balance and retention of our teams. It will make us more productive!’
It is likely they will continue to work to support customers and handle calls a day enquiries.
— Robert Forrester (@vertumotorsCEO) October 25, 2024
The news is the latest move by Vertu aimed at improving life for staff, with the group recently ditching ties from its uniforms in a bid to ‘modernise’.
Despite the changes, the Car Dealer Top 100 retailer remains at the top of its game, having recently announced a pre-tax profit of £23.5m for the first half of the year.
The group also announced that its Bristol Street Motors and Macklin Motors brands will be axed by April of next year, meaning that all sites will be branded under one ‘Vertu Motors’ umbrella.
