Completely Motoring Limited is looking for a buyer to rescue the car and motorcycle retail group. Following days of trade speculation, the group went into administration on 11 October. The company’s website currently displays information about its administrators, and notices have been posted on social media channels.
Rob Ayland founded Completely Motoring in 2009 and operated it with his sons George and James. The business consists of 14 showrooms across 11 locations, with 165 employees. The group includes Completely Motoring Limited, John Wilkins Motor Engineers, and Thunder Road Motorcycles Limited, trading under the names Completely Motoring, Completely Motorbikes, and Completely Suzuki.
Jonathan Amor and Matthew Richards, licensed insolvency practitioners with top ten accounting and advisory firm Azets, have been appointed joint administrators along with Alessandro Sidoli of Xeinadin Corporate Recovery Limited.
They urged interested parties to contact them promptly “to maximise their chances” of securing the future of the £70m turnover group. Amor, a restructuring partner at Azets, said: “The group has faced financial challenges following a disappointing summer sales period. Consequently, the group has been placed into administration for protection. We are currently exploring sale options with interested parties. We have already received several expressions of interest and encourage other parties to get in touch as soon as possible. Our goal is to secure a future for the group and preserve as much of the business and as many jobs as possible.”
For the year ending 31 March 2023, Completely Motoring Limited made an operating profit of £7.7m, up from £4.6m in 2022, from a turnover of £78.4m, up from £50.3m the previous year.
Stategic Fast track growth
The Completely Motorbikes retail group has experienced significant growth, predominantly since the onset of the Covid pandemic and associated lockdowns. The company strategically expanded its footprint by acquiring long-standing dealerships in Wales and the South West. The acquisition trail began in September 2019 when Completely bought Skellerns of Worcester. The move opened up sales potential in the Bristol and Swindon areas.
In mid-2021, the group bought Woods Motorcycles of Abergele in North Wales (established in 1981), along with its Triumph and Ducati franchises, and in early 2022, the group moved in on another acquisition, this time acquiring the landmark Thunder Road sites in Bridgend, Cwmbran, and Gloucester. The Bridgend business had a heritage dating back to 1954.
In 2023, the company unveiled further expansion plans by announcing a new 12,000sq.ft distribution and retail centre in Quorn, Leicestershire, followed by the news that the company had taken over the Worcester Ducati and Kawasaki Yeovil businesses. Then, in late 2023, Completely announced the opening of a new purpose-built Triumph showroom in Chester, which led to the end of Triumph’s 28-year partnership with Bill Smith Motors.
In a BDN interview in September 2023, Completely Motorbikes owner Rob Ayland discussed the company’s rapid growth and attributed its success to its online sales and the national delivery model it developed during the pandemic. “Completely offers free nationwide delivery using its fleet of 17 vans operated by uniformed drivers. This approach sets Completely apart from its competitors, who often use third-party delivery services with poor communication”, said Ayland.
Despite challenges such as interest rate rises and the cost-of-living squeeze, Ayland expressed satisfaction with the company’s performance, focusing on a commitment to excellence in sales. He also noted an improvement in post-Covid stock availability from most brands, of which Completely represented the vast majority. In addition to Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Ducati, the group held franchises for Piaggio, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, MV Augusta, Indian and CCM, with electric brands Maeving and Sur-Ron also added in 2023.
In the BDN interviews Rob Ayland was up-beat about current trading conditions: “We’ve taken the line of not discounting or distressing the market. We’re very much looking at selling motorcycles to people who want to buy them and making our customer service best in class. It sounds like a well-worn cliché, but at the end of the day, if you look at Google, our Hinckley site reviews are the best in the country. Hinckley is now selling more than 2000 bikes annually from a standing start two years ago in lockdown. There is more to come from Completely; we’ve got various things going on over the next six months. We’re far from finished!”
In 2020, the company signed a sponsorship deal for the Bennetts British Superbike Series to increase its brand exposure, and late last year it announced the official Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki team on its stand during the final Brands Hatch round of the 2023 season. Also announced was the team’s rider line-up of Jason O’Halloran and Max Cook.
What Went Wrong?
The motorcycle industry has seen its fair share of ups and downs, especially with large-scale groups that operate on a high-volume, low-margin ethos. Many in the trade will remember the similar woes of Motorcycle City, George White, Riossi, Carnell, and, more recently, Bikes UK. All of which left shockwaves behind their closures.
Running multiple dealerships comes with high overheads – from staffing and maintenance to marketing and logistics. That usually means substantial financial support from the banks, and as sales begin to dip, fixed costs can become a heavy burden. Completely Motoring expanded very quickly, which could have stretched its resources too thin. Though details about the group’s financial position are not yet fully clear, there are signs that Completely Motoring struggled with cash flow and mounting debts in recent months.
The Completely Motoring Group’s administration highlights the broader challenges facing the industry. As consumer habits shift and economic uncertainty increases, more dealerships find themselves in similarly precarious positions; after a “no-show” summer,
New motorcycle registrations were over 14% down in September alone. Traditionally, September’s new-plated metal boosts much-needed sales as the trade goes into the darker, wetter, and more challenging winter sales period. First nine months new registrations now stand 3.8% down at 90,406 units.
The downfall of Completely Motoring Group is a sobering example of how even well-regarded companies can succumb to financial pressures in a challenging marketplace. While the full details may take time to emerge, the collapse reflects the broader economic challenges and shifting consumer trends that many retailers are now grappling with.