The UK’s biggest solus Alfa Romeo dealership is due to open in Melksham, Wiltshire, on July 1. It will be one of the first in Britain to have the new Alfa corporate branding.

Islington Alfa Romeo, a £1.5m project, will employ 25 people and will serve Bath, Trowbridge, Chippenham and surrounding areas. The showroom has space for eight new cars, and a seven-bay workshop. As well as housing one of the largest collections of new and used Alfas in the country, it will offer a selection of prestige marques including Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar and Maserati. The company offers prestige used cars at its other dealership, Islington Citroen in Trowbridge which has a 6%-7% share of the local new car market.

Paul Jones, managing director of Islington Alfa Romeo, says: “We moved into the prestige market about three years ago. It’s gone very well for us and we are recognised within the Citroen network as used car specialists.”

Commenting on the new Alfa franchise, he says: “These are exciting times for Islington. While we have built up a reputation over the past 30 years, this new development takes the business to a whole new level. We wanted a non top 10 player and we were looking for a franchise that had some desirability about it – a prestige marque that didn’t involve the expense of, say, Mercedes or BMW.”

The dealerships are part of the Doric Group, based in Bath.