10:12 am, June 14, 2023
A family-owned used car dealership in Cumbria has doubled the size of its team after a nearby car retailer closed.
Five new members of staff have joined the expanding Matt Johnson Prestige in Barrow-in-Furness after nearby franchise dealership Furness Park became a trade-only operation.
MD Matt Johnson offered jobs to employees of Furness Park when it announced in January that it was shutting its retail operations after nearly 60 years because of changes in the used car sector caused by the pandemic.
He said: ‘We were saddened to learn about the closure of Furness Park. For decades, they had flown the flag for quality vehicle sales in south Cumbria and we had many friends within the business.
‘Finding great people is not always easy, and when the closure was announced, my thoughts immediately turned to the team members who would be looking for work.
‘I’m over the moon to have been able to offer roles within Matt Johnson Prestige to so many talented individuals.
‘Along with my existing team, we will work together as we plan the expansion of the business and its services.’
Ex-Furness Park service manager Dan Evans, who had been at the business for more than 15 years, is among the new recruits and will be working alongside Johnson to develop a retail service arm.
The new recruits take the number of team members at the dealership – which sells sports and prestige cars across the UK – to 11.
Johnson said: ‘Anyone in the car industry will tell you it’s as close to a 24-hour job as it gets. The phone is never off and the pace is fast.
‘But it’s hugely rewarding and I love nothing more than to see the smile on a client’s face as they drive away in their dream car.
‘It makes every day worthwhile – and with such an amazing team by my side, I’m very positive about the future.’
According to The Mail in South Cumbria, 11 workers at Furness Park, which was established in 1966, were understood to have been affected.
At the time, it quoted Furness Park managing partner Glenn Stoker as saying: ‘The used car market has changed unrecognisably since the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘The availability of high-quality vehicles that fit the profile of Furness Park stock – and more importantly meet the expectations of our discerning customers – is increasingly challenged.
‘Without the volume of suitable vehicles we need to run a viable retail business, we have had to reassess how we might operate.
‘The Furness Park business has excellent links to many other companies in the trade, and our focus will be those trade relationships.’
He added: ‘It is with great sadness that we are proposing to bring to a close what has been an extraordinarily happy, productive and fulfilling period of retail trading.’
