The Grange

The Grange is a franchised car dealership group based in the United Kingdom. The group stocks a number of motor brands across its 12 dealerships.[1] The brand originated in 1956, as a service and repair workshop, set up by Frederick Chambers. Between 2014 and 2016, Cambria Automobiles plc (LSE: CAMB) gradually acquired the company. The Grange has headquarters which can be found in Swindon — the base of operations for Cambria Automobiles plc[2] which also trades under the name of Motorparks and Doves.

History

The Grange was formed by Frederick Chambers in 1956, trading as a petrol station, as well as a service and repair workshop in Brook Street, Brentwood.[3] Grange Motors (Brentwood) Ltd was established in December 1958, where it became Britain’s largest independently owned Jaguar franchises and one of the country’s largest Aston Martin dealerships.

Grange Motors would remain a family-run business until May 2003. This included when the business was taken over by Chambers’ two sons, Colin and Graham Chambers. In 1985, they opened a new business in Welwyn Garden City, before further expanding with a flagship site in Exeter in 1989. Both sites were established with Aston Martin and Jaguar dealerships.

On 23 May 2003, Summit Motors Investment (UK) Limited (SMIUK), a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation of Tokyo, acquired Grange Motors Ltd. The Grange was then run by SMIUK, alongside their other brands Invicta, Doves and Dees.

On 31 December 2007, Cambria Automobiles plc acquired the SMIUK group and became the parent company of its existing brands and dealership — including Grange Motors Ltd.

In 2008, Doves Jaguar Croydon joined the Grange brand to become Grange Jaguar Croydon, with Swindon Jaguar becoming Grange Jaguar Swindon.

Cambria Automobiles plc acquired Hadley Green Motors of Barnet, Hertfordshire, which added the first Land Rover dealership to The Grange portfolio in July 2014. They also added their sixth Jaguar dealership.

On 1 May 2015, Cambria Automobiles plc completed the acquisition of the trade and assets of T H White Land Rover in Royal Wootton Basset, Swindon.

Cambria Automobiles plc then acquired the Land Rover franchise in Welwyn Garden City from the Jardine Motors Group on 8 January 2016, before acquiring Jaguar and Land Rover Woodford from Pendragon Premier Limited — a subsidiary of Pendragon plc — in July 2016.

Awards and recognition

In July 2014, parent motor retail group Cambria Automobiles received the Franchised Dealer Group of the Year Award 2014 at the 2014 Motor Trader Awards.[4]

Operations

The Grange stocks a range of car manufacturers, including Aston Martin, Jaguar Cars and Land Rover at the 12 Grange dealerships. Dealerships can be found in the following UK locations:

References

  1. ↑ "Grange | Our Dealerships | Aston Martin and Jaguar". www.grange.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  2. ↑ "Cambria Automobiles plc - Contact Us". www.cambriaautomobilesplc.com. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  3. ↑ "Cambria Automobiles plc - Cambria Group Brands | Cambria Automobiles plc". www.cambriaautomobilesplc.com. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  4. ↑ "Cambria Automobiles wins Franchised Dealer Group of the Year". www.motorparks.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-09-20.

1. http://www.grange.co.uk/our-dealerships

2. http://www.cambriaautomobilesplc.com/contact_us

3. http://www.cambriaautomobilesplc.com/our_brands

4. http://www.motorparks.co.uk/news/motor-trader-award

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/26/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.