AF Blakemore (AFB) is seeking a buyer for its wholesale division, consisting of 12 cash and carry depots across England and Wales, as a going concern.
The decision, which affects 520 staff, follows a strategic review by the company.
Its Joint Managing Director Geoff Hallam said the move away from the cash and carry sector would allow the company to invest further across its wider business and focus its future strategy upon its remaining eight divisions. One of these – Blakemore Logistics – supplies over 1,000 Spar stores south of the border.
AF Blakemore has been a long-standing member of Landmark Wholesale and its relationship with the buying group will remain business as usual for the immediate future and ongoing through the Foodservice and Wholesale Distribution divisions.
“We will be sorry to see AFB’s cash & carry depot division changing hands, however we are hopeful that some depots may not leave the Landmark family,” said John Mills, Landmark Wholesale’s Managing Director. “We understand that in this consolidating market, AFB have to do what is right for their business. We will work closely with their management team during this process.”
