12:23 pm, September 11, 2026
Renault, Nissan and RCI Financial Services have been refused permission to appeal after their bid to have Mackie Motors’ legal claim thrown out was rejected by the High Court.
Car Dealer has reported extensively on the Mackie Motors case over recent years, after the family-run dealer group has its banking and access to key dealer systems pulled with seven days notice back in 2021, amid internal suspicions of money laundering.
Last month, the High Court rejected a bid to have the case struck off and the same judge has now denied the defendants the chance to appeal.
After hearing submissions from the trio, Deputy High Court Judge Lance Ashworth KC yesterday (Sept 10) ruled that the appeal had ‘no realistic prospect of success’.
He added that the firms had failed to show that he had made an error in his original judgment, which found that Mackie Motors’ claim should be allowed to proceed to a full trial.
The KC also found that the defendants had not identified anything which demonstrated that he had considered something he should not have, failed to take something relevant into account, erred in principle or reached a conclusion that was ‘plainly wrong’.
‘There is no realistic prospect of success in any of the grounds,’ he wrote in the ruling.
‘The Defendants have not pointed to anything which, in my judgment, they have realistic prospects of success of establishing amounts to my having taken into account something I should not have done or failed to take into account something I should have done, or which shows I erred in principle or reached a conclusion that was so perverse as to be plainly wrong.
‘They do not like the conclusions I reached, but that is not a ground for an appeal.’
While the judgement now rules out a High Court appeal, Renault, Nissan and RCI can still make a renewed application directly to the Court of Appeal.
As well as refusing permission to appeal, Ashworth KC ordered Renault, Nissan and RCI to pay Mackie Motors £117,500 in legal costs relating to the failed application.
The dealer had sought £194,438.20 including VAT, but the judge ruled that the amount claimed was excessive.
‘Five years of my life have been taken from me’
In response to the news, Mackie Motors boss Kevin Mackie called for Renault, Nissan and RCI to take ‘accountability’
In a statement issued to Car Dealer he said: ‘After four and a half years of fighting for justice following the wrongful accusations made against me by Renault Nissan RCI Bank.
‘I am delighted not only for myself, but for my parents, my family, our former employees and everyone who has stood beside me and helped in the fight to uncover the truth.
‘This has never been solely about Mackie Motors. It is about accountability. Life is short, yet almost five years of mine have been taken from me by people who knew from an early stage that I had done nothing wrong.
‘Rather than admit their mistakes, they doubled down and attempted to defend and conceal what had happened.
‘The parallels with the treatment of the sub-postmasters are hugely troubling. They may have delayed justice, but they have not defeated it.
‘The truth is coming out and accountability is coming with it.’
Mackie strongly denies any claims of money laundering and describes the accusations as ‘unfounded’. Within weeks of being shut off, the business was sold in a distress deal.
In their strike off application, the defendants argued that the ongoing claim ‘repeats matters already litigated in previous proceedings’.
They also described the action as an ‘abuse of the court process’ and accused Mackie Motors of ‘re-litigating’ the same facts under new legal theories, after a previous court case ruled in favour of RCI.
We will continue to defend our position
Following the latest decision, Renault UK told Car Dealer: ‘We will continue to defend our position, as we have done throughout this process.’
After the initial strike-out application was rejected, a spokesman for RCI Financial Services said: ‘We acknowledge the judge’s decision to proceed to a further hearing.
‘We are reviewing the judgment in detail and the possibility of an appeal. As the matter remains subject to ongoing legal proceedings, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.’
Meanwhile, Nissan remained confident of winning at trial.
A Nissan spokesperson said: ‘The Judge in the latest hearing indicated that Mackie Motors’ claims are likely to be dismissed at trial but did not consider that they should be dismissed summarily at this stage. We will review the judgment and consider next steps.’
Car Dealer has approached Nissan and RCI for fresh comment.
You can read about the whole Mackie Motors legal saga here.