The well known Galway city car dealership Galway Mortorpark is being taken over by new owners in a multimillion euro deal.
Western car deal network the Sheils Motor Group is buying the Galway Motorpark from its current owner Michael Barry.
The purchase of the Headford road dealership with make the Sheils Motor Group the largest single dealer of Honda and Ford cars in Ireland.
While the exact value of the deal has not been disclosed, according to the Irish Times the price of the Motorpark is somewhere in the region of €5 million.
Sheils will see their annual turnover double to more than €50 million, shipping 2,500 cars.
Between Galway and its existing outlets in Limerick and Clare, the Motor Group will now employ 80 people in total.
Currently Sheils will continue to lease the current premises of Galway Motorpark on the Headford road.
But owner Thomas Sheils said they intend to move to a new location in the city in the near future.
He added that he is considering reaching out to other Galway city car dealers to explore the possibility of creating a massive multi-dealer motor retail park.
It would be similar to the Airside park in Swords, Co. Dublin.
The deal brings together two long-established dealerships in the West.
Galway Motorpark has operated under the Higgins name since 1912 when the company first became a Ford dealer.
Sheils first became a Ford dealership in 1925 under the control of current owner Thomas’ grandfather.
Despite the rise of online car sales and other alternative channels, Thomas says there will always be a need for a physical dealer in cities like Galway.
