Gates locked and 800 jobs lost as Dixon shuts down 27 of its dealerships

Staff at Dixon Motors on Manton Street and Savile Street arrived at work yesterday morning and were handed redundancy notices with immediate effect.

They were given just a few minutes to clear their desks and hand in company car keys before being ushered off site.

The gates were then closed, chained and padlocked - and it was a similar story at 25 other Dixon dealerships across Yorkshire.

Dixon Motors went into administration last Thursday because of difficult trading conditions.

One member of staff, who did not want to be identified, told The Star as he was leaving the Savile Street site: “We were led to believe the dealership would be bought after the administrators move in.

“This has been a total shock to the 120 staff who were employed here.

“Many of the sales team will not even qualify for redundancy payments as they haven’t worked here for two years. I’m just a few weeks short and am absolutely gutted.”

Administrators BDO Stoy Hayward said an offer has been accepted for 19 of the franchise dealerships for an undisclosed sum, securing approximately 600 jobs.

But they said an inability to secure sufficient funds for ongoing trading meant the remaining 27 dealerships had been closed.

The 19 franchise dealerships have been sold to Pendragon Plc, the largest independent operator of franchised motor car dealerships in the UK, operating nearly 400 franchises.

Graham Newton, business restructuring partner at BDO Stoy Hayward, said: “Since our appointment we have carried out a business review and held discussions with all of the car manufacturers to try to secure the future of all of the dealer-ships. The successful sale of 19 dealerships will protect the future of 600 jobs across the region. Regrettably, in the time available, we have been unable to conclude any sales of for the remaining dealerships within the group and as a result have no alternative but to close 27 sites with immediate effect, resulting in 800 job losses.”