Wednesday, 22 February 2012

Seward (Wessex), the south coast dealer group, has gone into administration.

The group operates across Dorset, Wiltshire and West Sussex and represents Vauxhall and Chevrolet.

Administrators Smith & Williamson confirmed that trading was continuing at the group’s sites whilst it looks for a potential buyer.

“The administrator is pleased to confirm that whilst Seward (Wessex) Limited is in administration, both Vauxhall Motors and Chevrolet UK have agreed to allow vehicle sales and servicing to continue while buyers for one or more parts of the business are identified,” said the administrators’ statement.

Seward Motor Group was founded in 1989 and is rated 182 in the Motor Trader Top 200 based on an estimated turnover of £42.5m. At its height it was a £100m turnover group with a 400 strong workforce.

Divestment at the group in recent years has seen Seward Renault and Seward Suzuki in Portsmouth, Seward Dorset and the Seward Accident Repair Centres trade as separate businesses, all of which are not affected by Seward (Wessex) going into administration.