10:31 am, October 13, 2023
A formerly family-run car dealership in the south of England is to close down for good, less than five years after it was taken over by Bristol Street Motors.
Bristol Street Motors Aylesbury Skoda will cease trading in the coming months after bosses ruled it was no longer a ‘viable option’.
Staff have now entered into a ‘period of redundancy consultation’ and despite bosses hoping to move staff to other dealerships, job losses are likely to follow.
The decision comes less than five years after the dealer group took over the running of the successful Skoda site, as part of its acquisition of the family-run Hughes Group in 2018.
That deal also saw Bristol Street Motors purchase Mercedes-Benz of Beaconsfield and Mercedes-Benz of Aylesbury businesses, which will continue to trade as normal.
Bosses say the decision to close the Skoda site is a ‘one off’ and insist that the firm retains a strong relationship with Skoda and the wider VW Group.
A spokesman for the Vertu Motors, owners of Bristol Street Motors, told Car Dealer: ‘The Group acquired its Skoda Aylesbury dealership in 2018 through the purchase of The Hughes Group, which also included the Mercedes-Benz of Beaconsfield and Mercedes-Benz of Aylesbury businesses.
‘After operating the Skoda business for over four years, we have assessed the expected future profitability of the franchise in this location and have determined, following discussions and agreement with Skoda, that retaining the franchise in its current property is not a viable option.
‘We therefore propose to close the Skoda Aylesbury dealership.
‘We understand this is a worrying time for our colleagues at this dealership and have started a period of redundancy consultation with them.
‘We hope to re-deploy many of these colleagues to our other dealerships in the local area.
‘Our relationship with Skoda and the wider Volkswagen Group remains very strong and this isolated decision is not part of any wider portfolio review.’
Car Dealer has approached Skoda for comment.
