Car dealership set to close making five people redundant

Dingles Garage, Attleborough, dated 1921. Picture: Archant (Image: Archant)

The SLM Group has announced it will be closing its Hyundai franchise in Norwich at the end of November.

There were 19 members of staff working at the branch, 14 of which have been reassigned elsewhere in the group.

Directors at the branch said that the closure was due to "current market conditions and agreement with Hyundai".

Of the five redundancies, three were voluntary.

The showroom will be used to further expand SLM's offering of other motors such as Toyota and Lexus.

The showroom is in Norwich's Delft Way and will close in its current guise on November 30.

SLM has a number of other dealerships in Norwich, as well as further afield in Attleborough and Lowestoft.

The company was formerly known as Dingles, which was founded 100 years ago and remained in the ownership of the Dingles family until 2017.

However it was sold to the Sussex-based St Leonard's Motor Group (SLM) in July of that year, still under the leadership of John Dingle.

SLM director Jason Barlow said: "Since the purchase of Dingles motor group, the Hyundai franchise has been challenging due to our location and market conditions. "The company enquired about relocating the franchise, but this was considered not to be financially viable."

He added: "We are saddened at the loss of any jobs within our group, and we will continue to help those that have been made redundant to find alternative employment. "Toyota and Lexus remains a strong franchise for the group and we will continue to invest in this site to further expand our customer's experience."

The business was founded in 1919 by George Arthur Dingle, who launched the company initially with a blacksmith's shop and then moving on to offer commercial vehicles.

Nearly 30 years later, the founder's son, George Henry Dingle, joined the company.

Over the years he brought in Ford, BMC and Triumph franchises.