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Motorpoint buyout saves 20 Oldbury jobs

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A motor sales site in Oldbury which closed last month has been bought by a car supermarkets chain, saving 20 jobs in Oldbury. more

The Lex Autolease Car Select site at Churchbridge Road was shut by banking giant Lloyds, with the loss of 45 jobs on May 21.

Five of the 50-strong workforce were taken on by British Car Auctions which has taken over part of the operation.

But Motorpoint Group has now bought the five-acre site for an undisclosed sum and is expected to have it fully operational from July.

The Derby-headquartered company is set to invest £5 million in the site over coming weeks and is taking on 20 of the former Car Select team.

Motorpoint, which opened in 1998, has 10 car show rooms across the UK including one in Aston Cross, Birmingham, that opened three years ago.

Its new Oldbury Mootorpoint will stock 500 low mileage nearly new vehicles from 30 different manufacturers, and will have access to Motorpoint's further 5,500 car stock.

Mark Carpenter, chief executive of Motorpoint, said: "We are delighted to have completed this acquisition as the Motorpoint brand has proved extremely popular across the West Midlands since we launched our Birmingham site three years ago.

"The new site will give even more people the opportunity to experience our compelling customer proposition, combining choice, value and service."

Lloyds announced it is closing its two Car Select car supermarkets in Oldbury and Coventry just over a month ago.

Although it sent the vast majority of end-of-lease vehicles from its Lex Autolease fleet division to market through BCA's auctions, its Car Select sites offered more than 500 vehicles direct to the public at any one time.

Motorpoint Oldbury will be open seven days a week, including until 8pm on weekdays.