8:38 am, March 25, 2014
A £5.8M FORD dealership has been opened in Sunderland, making it one of the largest in the north-east of the country.
Mark Ovenden, Ford of Britain’s chairman and managing director, did the honours at Benfield Ford’s showroom in Newcastle Road by unveiling a commemorative plaque at the glittering ceremony.
It was attended by Benfield Motor Group chief executive Mark Squires, his father John, who is the chairman, as well as sporting stars such as Sunderland AFC’s Craig Gardner plus Durham – and former England – cricketer Steve Harmison.
Mark Ovenden said: ‘It is a great pleasure for me to come to Sunderland to open Benfield Ford’s new dealership.
‘This significant investment by Mark Squires and his team has a special meaning for me because I appointed Mark’s father John to their first Ford franchise in Leeds over 20 years ago, and it is great to see how they have grown with Ford.’
Honour
Mark Squires said: ‘It is a great honour for us to welcome Mark Ovenden to Sunderland. We are delighted with this impressive new Ford development and to be a strong presence for Ford in Sunderland.
‘The Ford brand has a great and successful history in this region. Moving into Sunderland in this way is a natural geographic fit for Benfield and we are very much looking forward to developing and expanding the Benfield brand and reputation in Wearside.
‘The development has taken eight months to complete and has also created 45 jobs. It is a tremendous example of the Benfield and Ford brands working together to provide a world-class retail experience with unrivalled customer service.’
The state-of-the-art showroom has space for 10 cars and four vans, and includes a workshop with the latest diagnostics technology plus Class 4 and Class 7 MOT ramps. There is also space for more than 80 used cars. In addition, the dealership boasts a Transit van centre and business user facilities.
The Benfield Motor Group – an independently-owned family business founded in Newcastle in 1957 by the father of the current chairman – employs more than 1,500 staff and has 34 retail outlets throughout the north-east of England, Yorkshire, Cumbria and south-west Scotland across a portfolio of 16 car retail brands.
- Pictured above are, from left, Mark Squires, John Squires and Mark Ovenden
