Saltire Motorcycles Ltd (formerly Saltire Suzuki), Edinburgh, has ceased trading.
Co-founded in 2006 by Cullum Murray (below), the Edinburgh-based dealership held the KTM, Husqvarna, Indian, Royal Enfield, BSA, Mutt, and Sym motorcycle franchises.
A company statement issued on 3 September said: “We’d like to take this opportunity to thank our customers, staff, and trading partners for their support over the years.”
One of Scotland’s highest-profile retailers, Saltire, won the 2014 MCN Dealer of the Year Award for Scotland and the North of England and has twice been voted as the UK’s number one Japanese franchised dealer by RIDE magazine. Saltire also won a British Dealer News accolade in 2017, winning the Stand-out Sales Promotion of the Year award for the company’s TV advertising campaign.
Murray served his apprenticeship as a mechanic with Chatham’s Motorcycles before becoming a partner in A3P Motorcycles in 1987. He then spent time in France and set up MotoCal before returning to Scotland in 1995 and continuing the Motocal business in Edinburgh.
In 2004, he became a 50% partner in Alvins Motorcycles, which had dropped Harley-Davidson in favour of Ducati, KTM, Suzuki and MV Agusta, but the business was “haemorrhaging cash”. Murray closed Alvins on 28 March 2006 and opened Saltire Suzuki on 29 March 2006: taking the best of the staff and the best of the products. “We did very, very well in the first year of trading. The following years were tough, and 2013 was the first time we had another successful year.” Saltire took on Yamaha when fellow Edinburgh dealer Carrick Motorcycles gave up the franchise.
In 2015, the company set up the Alba Customs showroom, which housed the Victory and Indian brands. The following year, it extended its Edinburgh Saltire showrooms with a significant £100,000 investment. In 2019, it ended its 13-year association with Suzuki and took on Zero Motorcycles.
In the summer of 2020, Saltire Motorcycles went through administration. Unsecured creditors were owed more than £1.3m – RSM Restructuring Advisory was officially appointed as primary joint administrator by the Scottish Court on 24 July. Saltire’s assets were sold for £125,000 in a pre-packaged deal to newly incorporated company JCD Motorcycles on the same day. The trading name prior to administration had been changed to SML Realisations, so that JCD could subsequently re-adopt the Saltire Motorcycles moniker.
SALTIRE MOTORCYCLES TIMELINE
- 1979 Calum Murray enters the trade selling biking clothes for Chatham’s Motorcycles in Edinburgh
- 1980 Begins a five-year apprenticeship as a mechanic with Chatham’s
- 1987 Joins A3P motorcycles as a partner specialising in the creation of bespoke motorcycles
- 1994 Moves abroad and sets up Motocal in France
- 1995 Returns to Edinburgh and continues with Motocal
- 2004 Joins Alvins Motorcycles as a partner
- 2006 Closes Alvins and opens Saltire Suzuki
- 2006 Takes on Rieju, Sym and Royal Enfield franchises
- 2013 Takes on Yamaha, drops Rieju, Sym and Royal Enfield
- 2014 Adds the Victory/Indian frachise
- 2014 MCN Dealer of the Year Award for Scotland
- 2015 Launches Alba Customs showroom, which includes Victory and Indian franchises
- 2016 Opens extension to its Edinburgh showroom
- 2017 Wins the BDN Stand-Out Retail Sales Promotion of the Year for the company’s TV advertising campaign
- 2019 13-year association with Suzuki ended
- 2019 Adds the Zero Motorcycle franchise
- 2020 Saltire’s assets sold for £125,000 in a pre-packaged deal to newly-incorporated company JCD Motorcycles