12:07 pm, November 4, 2024
Statstone has closed an historic Mercedes car dealership after more than 70 years as the company continues to restructure after being bought by US investors.
The dealer group was acquired by Lithia Motors earlier this year as part of the £397m deal which saw the US giant purchase the UK retail arm of Pendragon.
In April, Car Dealer reported that Lithia had cut around 250 jobs by killing off the CarShop used car supermarket brand, but so far the Stratstone network has remained largely unaffected by the takeover.
Now however, the firm has closed its Mercedes-Benz of Bradford site in Cheshire, with immediate effect, having also sold its Tyneside BMW and Mini dealership, in news we reported this morning (Nov 4).
The move, confirmed to customers in an email, brings the curtain down on more than seven decades of trading in the West Yorkshire city.
The Telegraph and Argus reports that the brand first arrived in Bradford in 1953, when the franchise was operated by Charles Sidney.
It stood at its original site until a fire destroyed the premises in 1963, when the outfit moved to a new home on Thornton Road.
Stratstone bought the business in 2008 and the business remained at the Thornton Road site until its close last week.
On its website, the dealer group now says that ‘Mercedes-Benz of Bradford ceased trading in November 2024’. Meanwhile, the dealership is listed as ‘permanently closed’ on Google.
In an email to customers, Stratstone said: ‘As a valued customer, we are contacting you to confirm the closure of Stratstone Mercedes-Benz of Bradford store on October 31, 2024.
‘We understand the store closure may raise a few questions, so we have tried to answer as many of these for you within the FAQs.
‘This addresses questions around car finance, workshop bookings, and servicing.’
The closure comes after another ex-Pendragon site – Evans Halshaw Ford Northwich – also closed its doors last month.
Car Dealer has approached Stratstone for comment.
