Glyn Hopkin has become Nissan's largest retail partner in the UK on acquiring Nissan Cambridge from Marshall Motor Group.
The site is situated between Glyn Hopkin’s dealerships in Ipswich, Bishop’s Stortford and Bedford and is one of three Nissan outlets in Cambridgeshire - the others are operated by JS Holmes (Wisbech) and Smiths (Peterborough).
The acquisition increases Glyn Hopkin’s Nissan portfolio to 13 sites across the South East, which fits with the group’s strategy to expand its reach with current franchises, and is the first Glyn Hopkin outlet in Cambridgeshire.
Glyn Hopkin plans to operate from the existing facility until early 2015, when construction work on a new and improved, larger Nissan dealership will be completed.
The new purpose-built facility will also add Fiat and Jeep to Glyn Hopkin’s line-up, expanding the group’s partnership with Fiat to eight showrooms and Jeep to three showrooms.
Work on the new dealerships, which will be situated behind the existing site, will start in October and take around five months to complete.
Under the terms of the deal, staff at the Nissan Cambridge site are transferring to Glyn Hopkin, taking the group’s total headcount to nearly 600 personnel.
“This acquisition is in line with our strategy to expand and strengthen our relationship with our core brand partners, including Nissan and Fiat, with whom we have incredibly strong and successful long-term partnerships,” said Fraser Cohen, managing director at Glyn Hopkin.
“We see this expansion into Cambridgeshire, which conveniently links our territories in Bishop’s Stortford, Bedford and Ipswich, as a key acquisition for Glyn Hopkin which will strengthen our presence across the region.”
The acquisition of the Nissan Cambridge showroom is the latest expansion for Glyn Hopkin, following the launch of a brand new Nissan dealership in Bedford earlier this year and a dedicated Nissan Taxi showroom in Canary Wharf, London.
It also added an Infiniti franchise, Nissan's premium brand, in late 2013 at St Albans.
The group’s very first dealership, Nissan Romford, opened in January 1993 and Glyn Hopkin now has more than 30 showrooms across London and the South East, representing over 10 brands.
As editor, Tim is responsible for the media content, planning and production of AM's multiple channels (AM print and digital magazines, website, social media and contributing to our events planning). He interviews and writes about as many franchised dealer groups and UK divisions of motor manufacturers as possible, to explore the issues facing UK motor retail and understand what solutions dealers and suppliers are using to overcome these.
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