City Motor Holdings is trying to find a buyer to avoid going into administration as a result of "poor trading".
From Tuesday City Seat and City Skoda at the Houndmills Estate site in Basingstoke ceased trading. The business’s website is down and its Facebook and Twitter pages have been deleted.
A spokesperson for the group said: “We are in talks with third parties that may lead to the sale of the remaining dealerships as a going concern, and if a buyer can be found it will give us the best chance of preserving as many jobs as possible.
"There are a number of parties with who we are in discussions, which is encouraging.
“We can’t comment further until the negotiations with potential buys are completed.
“All staff are being kept updated on the current situation and will be the first to know should any developments be made.”
City Motors operates dealerships in Basingstoke, Newbury and Reading. The Autoplaza is its five-acre site in Basingstoke. It has seven main dealers, Gowrings Ford, City Peugeot, City Citroen, City Honda, City Suzuki, City Skoda, City Seat and City Kia.
The company hasn't filed 2015 accounts, but its recent performance figures reveal the challenges faced by the business. It made a loss in 2014 of £191,000 and return on sale was -0.17%.
City Motor Holdings financial history
Jeremy has been a journalist for 30 years, 20 of which have been in business-to-business automotive. He was a writer and news editor on AM-sister brand Fleet News for three years before setting up the AM website. For the last five years he has been Bauer B2B’s head of digital helping to manage the digital assets of AM, together with Fleet News, Commercial Fleet, Rail and Smart Transport.
craig jones - 15/09/2016 13:40
it is a shame and i hope everyone gets sorted quickly