VOLVO'S decision to sell its central and north London dealerships is paying off for buyer H R Owen which has expanded its fleet sales departments and announced two major deliveries.

The acquisition of six sites at Colindale, Regents Park, Euston and Southwark was made in October and is in line with Volvo Car UK's policy to concentrate on its role as distributor, leaving all retail operations to franchise holders. Business sales manager Martin Hutchinson oversees the whole of the main London area for H R Owen and has brought in an extra two staff and is looking to recruit more.

The team's latest success is winning an order to supply 20 Volvo S40s to Windsor Vehicle Leasing for use as a pre-contract hire fleet, whereby a customer would have the use of one prior to delivery of their own vehicle. And through Windsor Vehicle Leasing, 16 Volvo V40s have been delivered to pharmaceutical sales company AHA Sales and Marketing as part of its fleet.