£2.5M INVESTED AT NEW STOCKPORT HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP

Meridian Motor Group is investing £2.5m in a new state-of-the-art flagship Hyundai dealership in Stockport taking the Group’s turnover to more than £200m a year.  

The new showroom, trading under Meridian’s Vantage brand, is being developed in the centre of Stockport at King’s Reach, alongside the M60 and will create over 25 jobs. Work on the new showroom will begin later this month with a completion date scheduled for summer 2014.

         The site will be Vantage’s biggest Hyundai dealership and will
         feature a ten-car showroom, an eight-bay workshop and space
         for 60 used cars.

         In addition to Stockport, Meridian has planning permission to
         build a new ten-car showroom in Preston. Work is expected to
         start in December with the new dealership expected to open in
         the late spring, creating a further ten new jobs.

Meridian is investing a total of around £5m developing its four Hyundai dealerships in Salford, Stockport, Oldham and Preston.

Meridian’s managing director Mark Robinson said:

“It’s been a remarkable year for Meridian and the Stockport acquisition is part of the final stage of a planned but rapid phase of growth that has seen us develop a significant Hyundai presence in Greater Manchester in under two years.

“I am extremely pleased to be able to start work on our Stockport Centre and to be able to bring new jobs and investment to the area as well as further developing our relationship with a great brand.”

Following two further planned acquisitions the business intends to enter a phase of consolidation ….”However, if the right opportunities develop, we won’t rule out further acquisitions in the future as long as they add value to the business,” added Robinson.

Tony Whitehorn, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor UK, said:

“When the two sites open, they will offer the highest levels of customer satisfaction in terms of sales and also service and after sales support.”

Meridian counts Toyota, Lexus, Kia, Honda and Hyundai among its key brands.

The group was founded in 2003 by Mr Robinson with the purchase of two Toyota centres, in Knaresborough and York. The business opened its first Hyundai dealership in Salford in 2011 and now has 17 dealerships in total. Meridian has more than doubled annual turnover over the past year.