7:00 am, July 10, 2026
A family-run used car dealership is set to go under the hammer in a move which could bring the curtain down on 60 years of business.
Hollis Motors has traded from its home in Dover since the sixties but bosses have now made the decision to list the plot for sale later this month.
The site has a guide price of £580,000 with the sale scheduled to be live online between July 21 and July 23. According to auction details, the site includes a showroom, workshops and forecourt, with potential for redevelopment or conversion.
Should the plot be sold to a developer it would likely spell the end of Hollis Motors but a number of options still remain open.
Co-director Billy Hollis, 77 has told KentOnline that the business could remain active if the site is sold within the motor trade.
Alternatively, the current structure will remain in place if no sale can be agreed.
‘Depending on the outcome of the auction, obviously decisions will be made,’ he told the publication.
‘If a motor car person buys it, it’s going to continue ad infinitum. If nobody bids for it, we’re going to carry on.
‘But somebody could come along and offer an enormous amount of money. We cannot speculate until such time as we know exactly what the result of the auction is.’
The dealership was established in 1964 by Bill and Miki Hollis at the former Dover Tramways Depot. It later secured Volkswagen and Audi franchises before evolving into an independent specialist focused on Audi, Volkswagen, Skoda and Seat vehicles.
Over the decades, the business has built a strong reputation locally and Hollis was even awarded the British Empire Medal last year for services to the Dover community, recognising his charitable and voluntary work alongside his role in the motor trade.
Despite his advancing years, he continues to work at the site and has held on to his love of the motor trade.
‘I got my pension aged 65 but carried on working because I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it,’ he said.
‘If we do not get what we want to get in terms of financial results, then we’re going to carry on. Also, I will carry on.’
The auction also includes the possibility of a future sale of a nearby site currently used as the company’s MOT station, which could be marketed separately.
