NORTHERN Electric has outlined plans to sell its network of high street shops.

The group will sell its 30 outlets to an independent company, owned by its directors, and backed by the facilities management company Freedom group.

The new company, Northern Retail Limited, will continue to trade under the name of Northern Electric Retail.

The 30 shops in the North-East and Yorkshire covered by the deal have an annual turnover in excess of £50m.

The deal will lead to the creation of a logistics business offering delivery and warehousing services with capability for more than 75,000 home deliveries annually.

A servicing operation, dealing with 50,000 repairs a year and a warranty book of 200,000 customers, will also be created.

Freedom originated in the utility sector and offers facilities management to Northern Electric.

Northern Retail Limited will become the franchiser for shops offering expertise in marketing, buying, personnel and other related retail activities.

Eric Connor, president and chief operating officer of Northern Electric, said: "The Northern Electric shops have been an important feature in our relationship with our customers over many years, and we shall be sorry to lose them.

"But with the prior sale of the supply business of Northern Electric and Gas, we are now predominantly an electricity distribution business.

"We have therefore looked at a number of options in detail to see how best to secure the future of the retail business as a going concern."

He said: "We are very pleased to have reached agreement on the way forward, which will ensure the business will continue to offer customers high levels of service as they purchase products from the new owners."

Since the sale of the supply business of Northern Electric and Gas to Innogy last autumn, Northern Electric has been predominantly an electricity distribution business, owning and operating through the companies, Northern Electric Distribution Limited and Yorkshire Electricity Distribution Limited.

Simon Rigby, chief executive of Freedom, is looking forward to implementing the company's franchise model into Northern Retail.

He said: "I am grateful to Northern Electric for the opportunity to offer our successful franchising model to Northern's retail customers.

"Freedom's knowledge of support services via our franchising model will complement the services currently offered within Northern Electric Retail."

David Crompton, managing director of Northern Retail Limited, said: "It's exciting times for the new company, and I look forward to developing our customer offering with Freedom's expertise in facilities management."

Northern Electric is a subsidiary of US group MidAmerican Energy Holdings, distributing electricity to more than 3.6 million customers across the North-East, Yorkshire and Humberside.