Major Exeter motorcycle and car dealership ceases trading

A company which runs major motorcycle and car dealerships in Exeter and Plymouth has collapsed into administration with all showrooms closed. Marsh Holdings Ltd ran the Yamaha dealership and the Marsh Garages Used Car Centre in Exeter, the Triumph and Harley-Davidson showrooms in Plymouth and a Harley-Davidson outlet in Southampton.

All have now ceased trading with the company blaming a toxic cocktail of the flatlining economy, bad weather, oversupply of vehicles, and the recent Budget for leaving it in an “untenable position”. All the group’s websites have been closed and statements have gone out on the internet and social media saying each showroom has ceased trading and thanking customers, “many of whom we consider friends”, for supporting the business during the past 22 years.

The full statement said: “Sadly, we are devastated to announce that we have had to cease trading with immediate effect. After a difficult period of uncertainty in the economy, continued poor weather, forced over supply and stocking from our manufacturer partners and finally the devastating impact to businesses of the recent Budget announcements, have left us, like so many others, in an untenable position.

“We want to assure you that every possible effort was made to try and avoid this decision, but making it now is the only way we can minimise the impact on all those affected. We recognise there will be those of you that have concerns and matters outstanding and we want to assure you we are doing everything we possibly can to resolve these. We kindly ask that you are patient whilst we work to ensure these are dealt with quickly.”

Administrators at Westcotts Business Recovery, in Exeter, have been appointed. DevonLive has approached the administrators for comment.

Marsh Holdings Ltd was incorporated in 2008 and ran five locations including two at Hennock Road, in Marsh Barton, Exeter and two at Eagle Road, Plympton, in Plymouth. It has Exeter-based subsidiary firms Marsh Garages Ltd, Marsh Motorcycles Ltd, and South West Motorcycles Ltd, and Marsh Garages (Kia) Ltd, which traded in Taunton but was sold off last year.

The group employed 62 people in 2023, with a wage bill, including pension costs, of £2.2m. Directors Michael Wall and Richard Marsh, who had a controlling shareholding, received a combined £145,831 in remuneration and pension contributions.

Accounts for 2023 showed the Marsh Holdings Ltd reported a profit of £15,222 on sales of just over £30m. The report said that procurement of “excellent quality used cars had become “extremely challenging” and that for motorcycles, “significant weather challenges” in the second half of last year contributed to a decline in profitability for Harley-Davidsons.

It said that there was a lack of consumer confidence which was expected to worsen due to rising inflation and high interest rates, but the directors’ strategic report, dated September 2024, said they remained “cautiously optimistic”.