10:08 am, October 23, 2022
A family-run used car dealership in Suffolk has closed down after more than a century in business following a ‘particularly challenging’ few years.
Kerridges of Needham Market can trace its roots all the way to 1906 when founder Dan Kerridge opened a bike shop in the town.
Five years later, the business shifted gear to focus on cars before moving to its long-standing site in 1920.
Originally a dealership and filling station, over the decades the firm became something of a community pillar and even ran its own local bus service.
Throughout the years, it represented several brands, including MG, TVR, Noble and Chevrolet, as well as Bedford cars and vans.
For its entire 116 years of trading, the business remained in the ownership of the Kerridge family, with four generations running the firm.
But the journey has now come to an end, with directors John, Stephen and Pete Kerridge deciding to close the doors for good.
The trio – the great-grandsons of the founder – left a note on the dealership door, telling customers: ‘The last few years have been particularly challenging and sadly Kerridges have been left with no other option but to close the business.’
The East Anglian Daily Times reports that the site has now been vacated, apart from a handful of used cars that remain.
Among those to express sadness at the company’s demise was Mike Norris, a Mid Suffolk district councillor, who represents the Needham Market ward.
He described the business as ‘long-established’ and branded its closure a ‘great shame’.
He said: ‘It appears that this has all come about at very short notice. It is a great shame because they have been trading for 100 years.
‘It is a facility that is within the town and obviously we need thriving businesses.’
