Twenty jobs have been secured at a car parts firm in Essex after its assets were purchased by another East Anglian firm.

Expanding Norwich-based car parts company EU Ltd has bought the assets of Avidale Ltd. trading as Clacton Motor Spares and Colchester Motor Factors, in Essex.

The businesses will continue to trade from the existing branches at Coastal Business Centre, Ford Road, Clacton-on-Sea, and Hawkins Road, Colchester, and staff at both branches will be retained following the deal, said EU.

EU managing director Richard Shortis said the purchase fits its expansion ambitions.

“These two great sites fit nicely with our existing branch network,” he said.

“We are really pleased that most of the existing staff will be joining us and will continue to offer great service to local customers in Clacton and Colchester.”

EU Ltd is part of the family-owned and run Shortis Group, which trades from 77 sites, of which 23 are EU branches.

It also owns Linco plc and employs more than 600 staff.

Next year will see the group celebrate its 50th year across its sites in East Anglia, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire.

“We are always looking for ways to grow our business, especially when suitable premises become available,” said Mr Shortis.

“Importantly, we will be continuing our ‘customer first’ approach to ensure that the local garage trade continue to receive great customer service from these established sites.”

EU and Linco have 23 motor factor depots covering an area from the Humber to the Thames.

It supplies the local garage and workshop trade with car parts.

The large network of branches carries an extensive range of automotive components and exhaust systems from leading manufacturers.