A MULTI-franchise car dealership with a base in Reading has gone into administration after a prolonged period of poor trading with the loss of 267 jobs.

The news was confirmed yesterday when KPMG Restructuring were appointed administrators. Steve Absolom and Will Wright from KPMG Restructuring have retained 19 members of staff to help them with winding down the operation.

City Motor Holdings and its associated companies operate a total of 13 new and approved used car dealerships across the Thames Valley region.

The company, which has offices in Reading, Newbury and Basingstoke closed two dealerships last Wednesday with immediate effect and may have to sell off its other businesses.

Headquartered in Basingstoke, the companies operate dealerships fro a number of vehicle manufacturers including Ford, Peugeot, Citroen, Suzuki, Kia, Honda, Seat and Skoda, in additon to operating the PX Centre in Basingstoke, which specialises in the sale of used cars.

The cash-strapped management board were trying to sell off Gowrings Ford and City Peugeot, both based at Basingstoke Road in Reading, Newbury Motor Park and Basingstoke, along with City Kia in Newbury.

A spokesman for the group said there was little they could say whilst negotiations were on going.

He said: “We are in talks with third parties that may lead to the sale of the remaining dealerships as a going concern, and if a buyer can be found it will give us the best chance of preserving as many jobs as possible,” he said. “There are a number of parties with whom we are in discussions, which is encouraging.”

City SEAT and City Skoda’s Basingstoke sites stopped trading on Tuesday, September 13. City Motor Holdings say they are still working with manufacturers to minimise disruption to customers.

At the time of writing the company’s website www.citymotors.co.uk has been suspended.

Steve Absolom, joint administrator and director at KPMG, commented: “While industry figures indicate that the number of new car registrations in the UK has remained consistently high over the last two years, the number of nearly-new and used cars also coming to market has put pressure on motor dealerships around the country.

"Against this backdrop and after a sustained period of poor trading, the directors of City Motors Holdings took the difficult decision to close its operations and call for the appointment of administrators.”

Will Wright, joint administrator and KPMG Partner, said that over the coming days their principal focus was supporting employees with their redundancy claims and working with the vehicle manufacturers to wind up the business.”

He added: “We are aware that there are a number of customers who will be affected by this administration.

"While steps have already been taken to contact many of them, any customers who have immediate concerns should contact the following dedicated email address: citymotors@kpmg.co.uk.”