North East car dealerships acquired by Doncaster motor group

Three North East car dealerships have been acquired by Doncaster-headquartered, national car group Stoneacre.

The Hodgson Motor Group’s Toyota, Mazda and Suzuki dealerships, based at the Metrocentre in Gateshead and Silverlink in Newcastle, have become part of Stoneacre following the retirement of its owner Steve Hodgson, who has run the company for over 30 years.

The £80m turnover company’s 180-strong team will be retained by Stoneacre, which represents 26 manufacturer partners in 59 locations with 120 franchised outlets.

Jonathan Waters and Ben Jackson of the specialist corporate & commercial team at Hay & Kilner Law Firm in Newcastle acted on behalf of The Hodgson Motor Group in the disposal, which had originally been due to complete in March before being delayed by the pandemic.

Steve explained: “The business has always been based around family values and personal service, and we’ve continuously invested our profits back into it to support its organic growth and ensure we could provide everything that our customers wanted.

“The lasting relationships we’ve built with customers over the years, some of whom have bought dozens of cars from us, have been central to our success, and many of them have become both personal friends and ambassadors for the Hodgson business.

“When I decided it was time to take a step back, we looked at a number of different firms who expressed an interest in taking the business on and it was clear from our very first meeting that Stoneacre had the same values and personal approach that we’ve always held.”

Stoneacre managing director, Shaun Foweather, added: “For over 30 years, Steve has developed a great reputation with customers and has a very high level of staff loyalty. He is leaving the business in great shape and creates a fantastic opportunity for Stoneacre to grow it further.

“We’re retaining all of the existing team and intend to provide them with full head office support, training through the Stoneacre Training Academy and full integration into the Stoneacre Culture to ensure that customer satisfaction is further enhanced under the Stoneacre brand.”

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