Marshall Motor Holdings is claiming the title of the UK’s largest Skoda dealer after its takeover of Progress Group.
Having recent added two outlets representing the Czech brand of Volkswagen Group from Sandicliffe Motor Group, it has now added four more Progress Skoda dealerships at Bedford, Harlow, Letchworth and Northampton.
Once rebranded, these take the total number of Marshall Skoda dealerships to 11.
Marshall said the deal was done with the full support of Skoda. The businesses recorded a combined £400,000 loss in 2018.
Marshall plans to turn them around, and expects them to generate around £250,000 profit per site in the long term.
The two recent deals mean that Marshall now has a contiguous area of Skoda outlets along the M1/M4/M25 and A34 corridor, the company said.
“This appears to be a good time to invest in this brand with 3.2% market share, and 13% growth in the last five years. There is significant product to come, particularly across the SUV sector, and Skoda is also expected to benefit from the VW Group’s €44bn investment in mobility solutions and electrification strategy,” said Mike Allen, an analyst with Zeus Capital, which works with Marshall Motor Holdings.