Congratulations to our member, JC Campbell on their relocation to a new purpose-built premises in Newry which will create new jobs as part of a £2 million investment backed by Ulster Bank.
The third generation automotive dealer, established by Jim Campbell in 1945 is entering its 80th year in business and the new facility will allow the dealership to grow its used vehicle offering.
The business was an early dealer of British Leyland, the manufacturer behind brands such as Austin and Morris. In the 1970s Jim’s son, Colin entered the family business and paved the way for new partnerships with Rover, Citroën and Honda.
Today, the third generation business is managed by Colin’s son, Stephen Campbell, whose stewardship is guiding the family enterprise though the electric revolution in the motor industry.
The dealership employs 24 staff with several more colleagues joining its sales and servicing departments in the new year. Based on the former CARS of Newry site at 11 Old Warrenpoint Road, the new 1200sqm dealership has doubled its capacity for new and used stock.
As part of the investment in the new facility, the business has also secured a new contract with MG as one of its premier authorised dealers. Alongside its new vehicles, the business also runs JC Certified, its used car division with an inventory of over 60 vehicles across a variety of makes and models.
Stephen Campbell, Dealer Principal at JC Campbell said:
“This is an area we have been looking at for the best part of a decade. The local population is growing and the infrastructure means it’s easily accessible to motorway and cross-border traffic. It really expands our territory and opens us up to more business geographically.”
“With greater capacity on site, we are in a really strong position to grow our used vehicle division, which is the biggest part of our business. Reliability is key with used cars and our customers have come to recognise the value of the JC Certified trust mark.”
“These are franchise standard used vehicles that are fully checked and prepared with longer warranty than others in the market. That provides great confidence to road users.”
“Legislation prohibiting the sale of new internal combustion engines won’t apply to the used car sales, so we still see great opportunity to grow this side of the business over the coming years.”
Danny McGivern, Senior Relationship Manager at Ulster Bank said:
“Over the past 80 years, JC Campbell has seen and adapted to significant change in the automotive industry, not least the rise of the electric car. It has always been a forward thinking family business and its latest investment is a real demonstration of this fact.”
“The investment will create and sustain important employment opportunities in the Newry area and it provides the capacity to expand their offering into the future for their loyal and growing customer base.”
“We are proud to support them in this new venture and wish Colin, Stephen and the entire team continued success.”
For more information on JC Campbell, please visit:
www.jccampbell.co.uk