Car dealership giant Bristol Street Motors, part of the Vertu Motors Group, is planning to close its London Road branch in Stroud.

Staff at the site are currently in negotiation with the auto group's human resources department over their future options. Punchline has approached Bristol Street Motors for comment.

Jamie Moore, general manager at the Stroud dealership, said: "We hope that they can get a good resolution to the situation but cannot say more as yet."

He confirmed that the site, which offers repairs and maintenance, supplies a variety of new brands and holds extensive used stock, will cease trading at the end of this month.

The address on London Road has been a car dealership for more than 60 years and operated a fuel forecourt up until 2015.

Owned by the Vertu Motors Group, Bristol Street Motors has more than 180 franchised and non-franchised dealerships across the UK. The business started trading more than 100 years ago as a single Ford car dealership on Birmingham's Bristol Street.

Vertu Motors PLC was established in 2006 and began trading a year later after acquiring Bristol Street Motors for £38m, plus £9m of shares and an assumed debt of £29m.

● The announced closure for Stroud's dealership comes in the wake of a report earlier this month that sales of new used cars have strengthened. Car Dealer magazine reported that "new used cars flew off dealer forecourts in May as new car shortages continued to rumble on".