11:44 am, July 9, 2018
PENTAGON Motor Group has served a termination notice to the dual-brand Fiat and Nissan dealership in Huddersfield, with plans to close Eccles Vauxhall dealership announced too.
The dealer group have decided to give both Fiat and Nissan their required two-year period of notice before the dealership’s closure.
David Lewis, the managing director of Pentagon, said: ‘We regret closing our Fiat and Nissan business in Huddersfield, but are faced with the fact that the site cannot be further developed to meet the return on investment and brand identity standards.’
Lewis stressed he hopes the manufacturers will be able to find alternative franchisees for their brands and take on people who are currently employed at Pentagon’s dealership in Huddersfield.
Pentagon retains one other Fiat and Nissan outlet located in Barnsley.
The Vauxhall dealership in Eccles is expected to close during early 2020. This follows Vauxhall’s decision to refranchise and issue new contracts to fewer dealers.
‘We are naturally saddened to lose the Vauxhall business in Eccles,’ Lewis stated. ‘However, we understand that the brand has a vision to revise its future distribution strategy whilst remaining the second biggest brand in the UK.’
Again, Lewis stressed that he is confident that Eccles employees will be offered ‘suitable alternative employment’ at Pentagon’s other Vauxhall dealerships in the area. He said this is due to the ‘overall strength and spread of Pentagon Motor Group in Manchester, and the period of notice before final closure.’
When the Pentagon Motor Group was founded in 1991 by Trevor Reeve, it had one Vauxhall dealership in Derby. In 2017, the group was acquired by South Africa-based Motus Corporation for £28.5m.
The manufacturer Vauxhall is still Pentagon’s major partner and is represented at 11 locations.
By Oliver Young
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