9:03 am, November 11, 2010
Left to right: Graham Cunningham, dealer principal at Cooper BMW York and architect Lorna Griffiths from Taylor Design with Lewis Dowie, commercial manager at Whelan Construction.
DESPITE last week’s news that new car sales had plunged, Inchcape is ploughing on with refurbishment plans.
Construction firm Whelan has just completed refurbishment works at Inchcape’s BMW branches across Yorkshire, and is currently renovating Inchcape’s Mini dealership in York to complete a contract worth over £2 million.
The refurbishments at Inchcape’s BMW Yorkshire dealerships included the showrooms, offices, the handover area, as well as extending the car park and car display areas.
At York, the largest of the two contracts, Whelan also constructed a new wash bay and valeting area and carried out substantial internal extensions.
Derek Millican, Inchcape’s group property manager, said: ‘The BMW contracts were delivered on time and in budget and the building standard of these dealerships is of immaculate quality.
‘We were confident that Whelan could easily deliver again so we invited them to tender for our Mini dealership, which shares the same site as our BMW dealership in York.
‘Although car sales are down compared to last year figures where the government’s scrappage scheme really gave new car sales a boost, overall we are experiencing an improvement in car sales which is a clear sign that consumer confidence is growing.
‘Our immaculate new premises represent a message to both our competitors and customers that we have a firm foothold in the intensely competitive market of retail car sales. We look forward to working with Whelan Construction in the future.’
The refurbishments to the Mini site will be carried out in phases enabling the dealership to continue business as usual.
by JAMES BATCHELOR
