John Deere dealer acquires Greenlay

By Alistair January 27, 2020 11:21 Updated

John Deere agricultural and turf dealer Thomas Sherriff & Co, based at Haddington in East Lothian, has bought the professional turf business of Greenlay in Cramlington, south Northumberland.

This development extends the dealership’s trading area and takes to seven the total number of Sherriff outlets serving customers from the River Forth in Scotland, down through the Borders to Durham in north-east England and reaching out west to the Cumbrian border.

Sherriff’s head office site at Backburn in Haddington, which replaced the previous facility in Dunbar at the beginning of 2017, brought both the dealership’s agricultural and turf divisions under the same roof for the first time.

All 17 Greenlay employees have transferred to the renamed Sherriff Cramlington business, with outlet manager Eric Pattinson continuing to lead the dealership’s sales, service and parts team.

“Originally founded by David Lowes and his wife Judith in 1972 before becoming John Deere’s first professional groundscare dealer in 1986, Greenlay is а well-established, successful family business,” said John Deere division sales manager Chris Meacock. “We would like to thank the Lowes family and especially Geoff Lowes for their commitment to John Deere over the past 33 years – it’s great to see this positive outcome for his team.”

Sherriff managing director Colin Weatherhead added: “This is а key addition to our business and а great fit for our organisation. Following the development of our head office at Haddington as part of our overall expansion and restructuring plans, this latest acquisition represents another considerable investment in our business, allowing us to expand our geographical presence in the north-east of England.

“Most importantly, this means that we will now bе serving our total John Deere area of responsibility with both agricultural and turf equipment, from the Forth to Teesside.”