A MAJOR dealership has been forced to close down five showrooms after the business fell into administration.
Marsh Holdings Limited, based in Exeter, Devon, has been forced to shut up shop – just months after it sold its Kia franchise.
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The firm held franchises for the likes of Harley Davidson in Plymouth and Southampton, Triumph in Plymouth and Yamaha in Exeter.
Indeed, the group had only opened its Exeter Yamaha store at the end of 2023, while it offloaded its Kia franchise to another group after fearing the costs involved in updating its brand identity.
A notice on the company’s used car website said: “Sadly, we are devastated to announce that we have had to cease trading with immediate effect.”
The firm blamed their recent issues on a “period of uncertainty in the economy” along with continued poor weather, excessive supply and stock from their manufacturer partners, as well as recent budget announcements.
They added: “We want to assure you that every possible effort was made to try and avoid this decision, but making it now is the only way we can minimise the impact on all those affected.
“We recognise there will be those of you that have concerns and matters outstanding and we want to assure you we are doing everything we possibly can to resolve these.
“We kindly ask that you are patient whilst we work to ensure these are dealt with quickly.”
The message concludes by thanking customers for supporting the business for the last 22 years.
According to Car Dealer Magazine, accounts for the group, which were filed at the end of September, show it made an operating loss of £852,399 last year.
Taking into account the £1.2m second payment for the sale of Kia Taunton, it clocked up a profit of just £27,526 for the year.
Exeter-based administrators at Westcotts Business Recovery have been appointed.
Company Rescue claims the firm employed 62 people at its showrooms and had a turnover of £30m.
Last week, we reported that customers were left up in arms after a popular car dealership suddenly closed its doors temporarily.
However, The Car Group in Bury, Greater Manchester has assured punters that the business is “not going anywhere”.
Raza Habib, director at The Car Group, clarified: “We are not going bust, I want to make that very clear.
“We have not gone into liquidation.
“We are working hard to get things back up and running again soon.”
Elsewhere, a Ford Escort recently sold for over £200,000 at a classic car auction – with just over 2,000 miles on the clock.
The retro motor was one of the standout sales at the weekend’s Classic Motor Show at the NEC, Birmingham, which saw over 100 cars change hands for eye-watering sums of money.
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