UK car dealership closes 5 locations – staff told | Tech News

One of the UK’s largest car dealership corporations has confirmed the closure of 5 websites, with staff set to be affected. Vertu Motors, which oversees dealerships for some of the nation’s largest motoring manufacturers comparable to Peugeot, Citroen and Volvo, has warned of a collection of closures throughout the UK. 

Last week, Vertu confirmed that its Honda Bradford and Citroen Macclesfield dealerships had been shut, with staff told to start out work at separate dealerships. It is believed that the choice was made to close the shops after enterprise a review of the financial viability of the locations. After confirming the closure of the primary two shops, Vertu harassed that no colleagues could be made redundant with jobs merely transferring to 2 close by dealerships.

However, Vertu has since shut the doorways at three different websites with dealerships at Launceston Peugeot, Barnstaple Peugeot and Barnstaple Volvo now understood to be completely closed.

Speaking completely to Express.co.uk, Robert Forrester, Chief Executive of Vertu Motors plc, pointed the finger on the Government’s ZEV Mandate guidelines for placing strain on the motor sector.

Robert mentioned: “The Group regularly undergoes a review of its portfolio to ensure that it reflects a rapidly changing sector. The whole automotive sector is facing considerable pressure due to the impact of the Government’s policy to increase the sales of battery electric vehicles.

“The ZEV mandate, which targets manufacturers to drive battery electric sales – with the threat of significant fines of £12,000 per car where targets are not met – is placing significant pressure on the entire automotive supply chain, as widely reported.

“We believe it is critical that the Government undertakes an urgent review of the ZEV mandate to ensure it reflects the reality of the market and avoids unnecessary damage.”

Back in October, Vertu Motors posted document first-half revenues, with £2.51billion reported by the model, up from £2.47b simply a yr earlier.

However, the report wasn’t all excellent news, with Veru posting a barely decrease adjusted revenue. For the six months ending 31 August, 2025, Vertu’s adjusted revenue earlier than tax was mentioned to be £20million, down from £22.1m in the identical period final yr.

After the financial replace final October, Chief Executive Robert Forrester mentioned: “We have delivered market share features in each space because the group trades underneath the only Vertu model for the primary time. 

“We were particularly pleased to see further growth in our BEV retail market share.”