MANCHESTER car dealership Horners Motor Group is on the brink of insolvency, it emerged today.

Horners, which was hard hit by the collapse of Rover in 2005, now operates Mitsubishi and Skoda franchises on Bury New Road, Manchester, and on Queensway Rochdale.

Sources close to the situation said the company was ‘examining its position’ and was in talks with its lenders, Bank of Scotland, over its future viability.

According to its most recently filed accounts, the company, which is a major sponsor of Oldham Athletic FC, made a loss of £564,275 on sales of £29.7m. According to the accounts for the year to June 30, 2007, Horners employed around 130 people and owed creditors more than £9m.

Although much reduced from its pomp, Horners remains a respected name in the north west motor trade.

Family

The original business was established in 1922 as an Austin dealership. Over the years F Horner & Son became a landmark on Bury New Road. The Horners family sold out in 1986.

The consumer downturn, combined with rocketing fuel prices and government proposals for green car taxation, has hit the new and used car market hard.

Higher interest rates , less available and more expensive and hard-to-access finance have been key, as consumers have shunned spending on ‘big ticket’ items such as car sales.

In the past week, national dealership groups Pendragon and Lookers have warned over difficult market conditions and said they were looking to cut costs. In the case of Nottingham-based Pendragon, this meant 500 job losses.

The financial problems at Horners have left some customers in limbo.

Justin Wilson from Blackley says he is among a string of car buyers who has been left in the lurch. Mr Wilson put down a £500 deposit for a Subaru Impreza at the Rochdale branch last Thursday.

But when he returned this week to collect the keys, trade in his own pick-up truck and pay the final £700 instalment, staff said that because of financial probleems, and they were therefore unable to give him his deposit back or his new car.

Mr Wilson, a 35-year-old landscape gardener, says that when he asked whom he should approach, staff told him they did not have any further information.

The company was unable to provide customers with any details but said they would contact them when they knew more.

Mr Wilson, a father-of-one, said: “When I arrived to collect the car, it was mayhem. People were furious, and it’s clear why. I’m obviously not the only one in this situation.

“I’d shown some interest in the car last week, and the garage then called me and pushed a deal through that I was happy with and excited about. I paid the deposit on my debit card, and as far as I’m concerned that car was mine – and I should have the keys by now.

“I’ve been calling all week, but they still can’t tell me what’s happening.”



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