A MAJOR car and motorbike dealership group has entered administration and is seeking a new owner to save 165 jobs.
Completely Motoring, who specialises in new and used vehicles, currently holds 14 showrooms at 11 locations spanning Wales and the South West of England.
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Completely Motoring Limited, which trades under Completely Motoring, Completely Motorbikes and Completely Suzuki, entered administration last week.
The dealership’s website has since been replaced with details of the group administrators, while notices have been published on its social media pages.
In a statement posted to Facebook, they wrote: “Urgent call for buyer to save leading new and used vehicle group.”
The statement adds that the Joint Administrators are “urging interested parties to make contact as soon as possible to maximise the chances of securing the future of the £70 million turnover group.”
According to Car Dealer Magazine, Completely Motoring Limited made an operating profit of £7.7m, up from £4.6m in 2022.
Its turnover was £78.4m from £50.3m the previous year.
Joint Administrator Jonathan Amor, a Restructuring Partner at Azets, said in a statement: “The Group has encountered financial difficulties after a poor summer sales period.
“As a result, the Group has been placed into administration to protect it.
“We are exploring sale options with interested parties.
“We have received several expressions of interest and we urge any other parties to make contact as soon as possible, with a view to securing a future for the Group and saving as much of the business, and as many jobs, as possible.”
Completely Motoring is based in Gloucestershire and it was founded in 2009 by its current owner Rob Ayland, former boss of Colt Cars Mid West Ltd.
This comes as car manufacturing giants Stellantis, who are Europe’s second-biggest car-maker, are set to make an urgent decision on their plants based in the UK.
In recent months, they have suggested that they could be forced to shut their Vauxhall factories after clashing with the UK government over new electrification rules.
The warning potentially puts 2,500 workers at risk at their Ellesmere Port and Luton sites.
As well as Vauxhall, Stellantis owns a number of other well known brands, including Citroen, Fiat, Jeep, Peugeot and Maserati.
Elsewhere, Martin Lewis‘ MSE has warned owners of cars from three major brands could be missing out on claiming £1,000s.
A huge compensation deadline is approaching in the next few weeks, which experts suggest could result in average payouts of more than £10,000.
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