Long-running family business Nightingales Motorcycles has announced its closure. The Rugby-based firm, which had been operating since 1972, blamed the general decline in the trade, together with higher costs, for its closure. But it also pointed to the retirement of three of the four partners who owned the business.
Nightingales started out in Park Road, Rugby, and later opened two shops in nearby Daventry, before focusing on the current Lawford Road, Rugby, premises in 1981, where it’s been based ever since. Over the decades, the Nightingales showroom has stocked machinery from Honda (for 30 years), Kawasaki, Suzuki, AJS, Lambretta, Peugeot, Aprilia and many other manufacturers.
In an online statement, the company thanked staff and customers from the last 53 years and announced its final day of trading as 16 August.
“We have had some fantastic times and met many wonderful people, many of whom have become close personal friends,” continued the statement. “Like any business, we have had our ups and downs and battled through recessions, relentless government regulation and even a worldwide pandemic which hit our industry hard. Despite that, we take with us countless happy memories.”