Two of the biggest Agco dealers in the UK, Chandlers and Ross Farm Machinery, have merged their teams and main franchises.

Chandlers operates from 13 depots, primarily covering Lincolnshire and the eastern and central regions of the Midlands, while Ross Farm Machinery has four sites in western England and Wales.

The combined business will begin trading on 1 February and will employ more than 425 people.

See also: Revealed: Britain’s biggest farm machinery dealers

Vincent Tractors grows

Vincent Tractors & Plant has opened a fourth depot, in Wellington, Somerset, pushing its territory beyond Devon and Cornwall for the first time.

It will provide sales, parts, service and support for Kubota tractors, implements and groundcare equipment, reaching north to Bridgwater, and east towards Axminster.

Vincent Tractors’ other depots are at Holsworthy, north Devon, Smithaleigh near Plympton in south Devon, and the company’s headquarters in Fraddon, Cornwall.

George Browns relocates to Witney

Kubota dealer George Browns has closed its groundcare-only Haddenham depot and opened a new one in Witney, West Oxfordshire.

The dealer says it will provide more workshop space and put it in easier reach of many of its customers.

The new facility complements existing branches in Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Essex, with the Chesham and Buckingham branches now supporting groundcare customers that previously used the Haddenham site.

Rickerby moves south

November saw Rickerby open its ninth, and most southerly, depot. The outlet is at Barracuda Business Park, Burscough, Lancashire – a 229-mile drive from its northernmost dealership in Dunbar.

Oliver Land Power acquires LQG Agri

JCB dealer Oliver Landpower has completed its acquisition of neighbouring machinery distributor LQG Agri.

The deal expands the company’s territory westwards into Warwickshire and adds a fourth branch to Oliver Landpower’s sales, parts and service network,.

The dedicated JCB location at Upper Quinton – now operating as Oliver Landpower Stratford – joining branches in Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

Oliver Landpower operations will extend eastwards when it takes over JCB’s Essex territory at the beginning of this year from a site in Colchester.

Rea Valley Tractors officially switches to New Holland

Rea Valley Tractors (RVT) officially became part of the New Holland dealer network at the start of November.

This also saw the firm’s territory extended with three new branches in Middlewich (Cheshire), Ormskirk (Lancashire) and Denbigh (North Wales).

These join existing sites in Welshpool (Mid Wales), Sudbury (Derby), Newport and Shrewsbury (Shropshire), doubling the firm’s trading area.

McCormick expands in Cumbria

Cumbrian dealer Burrow & Rutter-Armstrong has taken on its first tractor franchise after penning a deal with McCormick.

The Penrith-based business was founded in late 2019 by Jordan Rutter-Armstrong and Daniel Burrow, who started out servicing, repairing and trading second-hand machinery across the Eden Valley.

It has subsequently bagged several franchises, including McHale, Trioliet, Polaris, Smyth and Major.

J Riley Beet Harvesters changes hands

Jeremy Riley, the founder and majority shareholder of long-established Vervaet importer J Riley Beet Harvesters, has sold his remaining 50% stake in the business.

The company’s sales manager, Matt Carse, has taken over as managing director.

AS Communications to distribute AgXeed autonomous tractors

Guidance specialist AS Communications has taken on distribution of AgXeed autonomous vehicles.

The firm’s new ASC Autonomy division will have a dedicated team to support customers through the transition to driverless machinery.

Argo Tractors pairs with xFarm Technologies

McCormick and Landini parent Argo Tractors has signed a deal with xFarm Technologies that will give it access to the firm’s farm management information system.

The platform offers various functions designed to simplify job planning and field records, and allow machinery fleets to be monitored from afar.

Argo already offers Topcon GPS guidance in its tractors, and has been investing heavily in Isobus, telematics and remote diagnostics systems.

Quicke opens new distribution centre

Quicke UK has opened a new distribution centre in Greater Manchester, where it will stock its loaders and a range of implements to speed up turnaround times and allow for the tracking of high-demand items.

The company already has a Scottish depot and central distribution units based in Germany.

Terrafarmer buys Precision Decisions

Regen-ag start-up Terrafarmer has acquired soil sampling business Precision Decisions from Map of Ag Groups, allowing it to offer its farming customers greater insight into the condition of their soil.

New European Parts Centre for Kubota

Kubota has invested €15m (£12.9m) in a new European Parts Centre at Thionville in the region of Moselle, north-east France.

The warehouse will primarily supply dealers and distributors across Europe and the UK.

SDF takes majority stake in Vitibot

Same Deutz-Fahr has invested in Vitibot, a French start-up that specialises in vineyard robotics, such as autonomous electric straddle tractors.