A CAR dealership has been sold to a major rival.

The Land Rover franchise on Faringdon Road, Cumnor Hill, has been bought by the Ridgeway Group from Hartwell for an undisclosed sum with all 33 staff transferring to the new owner.

Ridgeway chief executive John O’Hanlon said: “We are delighted to have the Land Rover marque in the Ridgeway stable and in the month that the brand marked its 65th anniversary.”

He added “The brand is in such a strong position and we look forward to representing such a respected motor manufacturer in a territory we know well.”

Ridgeway has grown significantly since it set up with a Volkswagen (VW) dealership in Wantage in 1997 along with a VW and Audi showroom in Newbury.

In 1999 it acquired the Jewson Skoda dealership in Abingdon Road, Oxford, followed two years later by another VW outlet in Reading and an Audi garage in Kidlington.

In 2006 it bought up the Pentagon Group, giving it access to dealerships across the south of England. This is the company’s first Land Rover dealership. The Cumnor site has been operated by Hartwell since 1996.

Ridgeway now employs more than 1,100 staff across the group and recently picked up the Dealer Group of the Year title from Motor Trader magazine.

Nobody from Hartwell was available to comment.