11:02 am, August 14, 2024
A family-owned and operated Ford dealership group is poised to open its fifth site.
Dalkeith Retail Centre, trading as Your Ford Centre, has used a £3m loan from the Royal Bank of Scotland to buy and refit the site in Dundee.
Dundee Ford Centre will be the city’s main Ford franchise, which Your Ford Centre said highlighted its commitment to delivering exceptional automotive services to a growing customer base across Scotland.
The business is headed up by founders William and Janina Short, supported by sons David, Ian and Marek, grandson Ben, sales director Derek Thomson and aftersales director Graeme Salmond.
Under the Short family’s leadership, Your Ford Centre has outlets in Cupar, Peebles, Dalkeith and Kirkcaldy and employs more than 100 staff, with the showroom in Dundee creating another 20 jobs.
The 10-acre site in Baird Avenue, which is now scheduled to open later this summer after it was originally hoped that it’d open on July 1, will have the full new Ford car range, including the electric Ford Mustang Mach-E, and will boast a six-bay workshop and MOT facility as well.
Dundee Ford Centre, which has replaced an ex-Tesco depot, will also sell used cars plus used commercial vans.
David Short, managing director of Dalkeith Retail Centre, said: ‘We are incredibly proud to expand our presence in Scotland with our new Dundee dealership, which is testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team.
‘As a family business, we’re built on trust – something which has been central to our long-standing history with Royal Bank of Scotland since the early days of W&J Short.
‘We’ve worked together for over five decades now and their support and advice has played an integral part in our growth so far.’
Mark Goodall, relationship manager at Royal Bank of Scotland, added: ‘David and the rest of the team have built a hugely successful business from the ground up and it’s been a privilege to help them on that journey.
‘With a reputation for offering exceptional customer service across their other four dealerships, this new site marks an exciting new chapter in the growth of Dalkeith Retail Group by enabling them to become Dundee’s main Ford franchise.’
Your Ford Centre has been a Blue Oval partner since 1976 but can trace its roots back almost a century to 1925.
