# Brownhills Swindon closure



## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

Apologies if this has been mentioned elsewhere. Brownhills Swindon closed with immediate effect. 

Russell


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## RedSonja (May 22, 2006)

O dear that dosent sound too good especially for those working there or anyone who had their van booked in for work.


Announcement on their website.

It is with deep regret that due to the economic downturn and reduction in motorhome sales Brownhills announce the immediate closure of its Swindon branch. Our remaining and sustainable dealerships at Newark, Preston and Durham continue to trade as normal. Any customers with queries relating to ongoing dealings with Brownhills Swindon dealership should contact us here and a Head Office staff member will respond as soon as possible.

Sonja


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

Blimey that's out of the blue, isn't it? They had a cull of branches a while back, and then "concentrated" on the current ones. :roll: So Newark, Preston & Durham are sustainable eh? Where's the support for their customers south of Newark? 

How many other dealers are in trouble? Rather worrying development.


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## Stephb (Jun 28, 2011)

Sorry, no sympathy from me, If ever I have tried to do deal with a dealer they always try there hardest to rip me off, give me at least £9000 less for mine than its worth, then pay way over the odds for there's, Maybe if they were competitive they'd be doing better,I always buy private, and don't give me any of that warranty rubbish, if i drive it away from a private sale and the engine, gearbox and back axle fall off, i can afford to get it replaced with the £10,000 i saved by buying private.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

They're a relatively new branch and right next door to West Country Motorhomes with Marquis not too far away.

We'll miss them however as they were good for accessories and a quick browse when we passed that way. I have to say that in all the interactions we had with them they came out well.

G


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## bigbazza (Mar 6, 2008)

They altered the main road in Swindon 18 months or so ago and the change put them really out in the wilds. It took me a good couple of hours to find them and I'd been their several times. My sat nav couldn't cope with the change.
I have to say even with all the negatives on here that I was treated very well by Swindon and they gave me the best trade in of all the dealers I went to at the time.
I'm sorry to see them go. perhaps it's the location which has reduced the sales at that branch.


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## eddied (May 9, 2005)

*Crisis*

:roll: oh, there'll be a lot more closings down in the leisure sector generally, when the cash flow starts to dry up a bit in the autumn.
saluti,
eddied


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## Topefisher (Apr 20, 2011)

Slightly off Topic:

My local Harley Davidson dealer closed last week ( Manchester HD ). 4 yrs ago they were the biggest selling dealership throughout Europe. Yesterday both Leeds and Doncaster Harley closed. 3 x dealers all in same group gone within a week.

Back on topic:

This will obviously yet again mean some job losses and my thoughts go out to those that are affected.

We have been looking closely at purchasing from Brownhills after my earlier posting questioning their after care, moved me towards them now being much improved ( both post replies and PM's ). We lost the unit we were first looking at but have another that is high on the list.

This is now a little worrying, especially after 3 x HD dealers went in quick succesion over such a short period. Maybe it is just wise to wait and see.


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

well I've just downloaded the accounts for 2009 (2010 accounts will be due by 30/9/11), they were filed late - November last year.

They don't make very good reading, with a balance sheet deficit of £9.9million, and a loss in 2009 of £7.8m (after writing off goodwill & property values). Significant to note that T. Booth apparently resigned as a director in May last year, but the company is owned by a company called Hosting Developments Ltd, and the ultimate controlling party is a certain T Booth 8). 

They bought the freehold of the Swindon branch in May 2009 for £1.35m from the administrators of the old Brownhills company - financed by a bank loan, how much is it worth now, having been diverted off the main road, and vacant? Or has a sale been done? I seem to remember somebody commenting about for sale signs up there a while back? Hmmm




here's a pdf copy of the accounts


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

bognormike said:


> Significant to note that T. Booth apparently resigned as a director in May last year, but the company is owned by a company called Hosting Developments Ltd, and the ultimate controlling party is a certain T Booth


Of course, that's the well-known philanthropist Mr. Tim Booth, a completely and unrelated person to Mr. Tom Booth :wink:

It must be a very tough business to be in at the moment, with huge showrooms. I'll have a shufty at the document later.

Gerald


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Report*

Thanks for the info Mike. I love a good "report and accounts" - especially the Tesco annual report and accounts!

Is it still £1 to access the Ltd Company accounts?

Russell


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## duxdeluxe (Sep 2, 2007)

Called in at Brownhills Newark this morning for some accessories (I like their accessory shop - they are helpful and polite) and a nose around the showroom. Despite spending a good half hour looking around the vans and being reasonably smartly dressed - on the way to a client meeting - got completely ignored by all the salesmen, a couple of whom simply walked past without even saying "hello". Ok, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say that it was my body language that said "don't bother". A really nice display of a good variety of vans, though.

I took the decision to buy locally anyway in case of after sale issues.


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## A37 (Sep 22, 2009)

Agree that the location is poor.

I always found the Brownhill's branch to be rather 'empty'. Too big a space and too few vans.

Since West Country Motorhomes are next door, I wonder how it will affect them ? 

We have driven up to visit both dealers, but probably wouldn't bother just for the one.

Similarly with WCM in Somerset, we normally pop in on our way to Highbridge caravans ( for the accessory shop :wink: ) - occasionally down to Chelston then on to Martin's in Exeter...if we're in the mood :lol:


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

*Re: Report*



Rapide561 said:


> Thanks for the info Mike. I love a good "report and accounts" - especially the Tesco annual report and accounts!
> 
> Is it still £1 to access the Ltd Company accounts?
> 
> Russell


the Tesco one would take hours to go through! And yes, £1 per item, all in the public domain. 8)


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## leltel (Jul 27, 2010)

Oh cr*p, no wonder I haven't heard back from them today!


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## leltel (Jul 27, 2010)

Thats good to know Choo. We were waiting to see if our exploded headlight was covered by warranty. I will have to contact Newark now. We had never been let down by Steve Cox in aftercare though, he had always been very good, I am sure that the staff didn't know anything yesterday


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## JohnsCrossMotorHomes (Jul 21, 2007)

bognormike said:


> Blimey that's out of the blue, isn't it? They had a cull of branches a while back, and then "concentrated" on the current ones. :roll: So Newark, Preston & Durham are sustainable eh? Where's the support for their customers south of Newark?
> 
> How many other dealers are in trouble? Rather worrying development.


Plenty of support from Johns Cross all Brownhills customers are welcome and we won't be closing.

So much so we have expanded with a large new warehouse in Hastings to cope with the large volume of internet and telephoned orders. 

Peter


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## leltel (Jul 27, 2010)

*none*



JohnsCrossMotorHomes said:


> bognormike said:
> 
> 
> > Blimey that's out of the blue, isn't it? They had a cull of branches a while back, and then "concentrated" on the current ones. :roll: So Newark, Preston & Durham are sustainable eh? Where's the support for their customers south of Newark?
> ...


Hi Peter
Ours is from yourselves, but apparently Hymer are the only people who can authorise and undertake the replacement of our headlight. We are very much hoping that it is covered by the warranty with the cost of a replacement.
We can highly recommend yourselves though for sales and accessories. 
Lel


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

Hi

Apologies to members who may be following this thread but I've had to remove a couple of posts as it's possible they were contravening the forum rules on advertising.

Once the moderators have had an opportunity to look at the posts they may possibly be replaced.


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

JohnsCrossMotorHomes said:


> bognormike said:
> 
> 
> > Blimey that's out of the blue, isn't it? They had a cull of branches a while back, and then "concentrated" on the current ones. :roll: So Newark, Preston & Durham are sustainable eh? Where's the support for their customers south of Newark?
> ...


might have known you'd take the opportunity, Peter :roll: . And the dealers round here (Premier and Southdowns) seem to be ticking along nicely as well.
The problem is with the Hymer brand, and Brownhills' exclusive deal in the UK - even fewer outlets for sales - what it needs is Hymer AG to appoint some more delaers.....


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Brownhills*

Mike - yes the Tesco annual report and accounts is lovely but does not come with Clubcard Points

A37 - I called at West Country near J22 the other day. Everything was absolutely gleaming. I looked in one van and it was the same inside as out.

Russell


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## JohnsCrossMotorHomes (Jul 21, 2007)

bognormike said:


> The problem is with the Hymer brand, and Brownhills' exclusive deal in the UK - even fewer outlets for sales - what it needs is Hymer AG to appoint some more delaers.....


I would not be surprised to see that happen from what I have heard in the trade.

Peter


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## joedenise (Jul 20, 2007)

Are you offering Peter, You may need bigger premises


:wink: :wink: 

joe


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## kayjaybe (Apr 15, 2010)

Firstly, I feel sorry for the staff if their jobs are to go and they don't get redeployed and I endorse the praise for Steve who was very helpful. We stored our van there which was very convenient and infinitely better than the last three places we stored it at. 

Cannot say the closing of the branch was a surprise. Every time we were there it was like the Marie Celeste. Seems contradictory it should close when camping surges ahead during the recession. Nevertheless, I find it hard to understand who would buy the A class Hymers - or any other brand for that matter - at £60k plus. Formerly, we were Eriba caravan fans - great quality, high relative price - with sadness I see the main dealer at Lechlade has also closed. 
Two gaping holes in Hymer provision and service in the South of England. I suggest we write to Hymer and ask if they are happy with this situation and what they intend to do for their customers who live there. 
Problem is, as we found out when our headlight shattered, Hymer regulate who can get access to their parts and warranties in such a way that if a recognized branch closes you are left with the prospect of traveling a long distance for parts and service and a great deal of inconvenience.


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## javea (Jun 8, 2007)

kayjaybe said:


> Two gaping holes in Hymer provision and service in the South of England. I suggest we write to Hymer and ask if they are happy with this situation and what they intend to do for their customers who live there.


I sent them an email on Wednesday making this very point, no response received yet.

Mike


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## DavidRoberts (Jun 1, 2011)

We recently purchased a new motorhome from the Swindon branch. There were a few teething troubles that needed sorting - I'm relieved that we managed to get them sorted before the closure. We have a long way to travel if we have any further problems...

Got to say, although we had a few issues with "communication", the staff were always very polite and helpful when we were up there.


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## JohnsCrossMotorHomes (Jul 21, 2007)

joedenise said:


> Are you offering Peter, You may need bigger premises
> :wink: :wink:
> joe


Doubt it although there is still plenty of cash left in the old 'war chest' after buying the new warehouse in Hastings, if you get too big it can very easily go to pot with unhappy customers as has been seen so many times with the 'big boys'

Peter


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