28 December 2014

One of Manchester’s best-known auto retailers has ceased trading. Directors at Bauer Millett closed the business’s city-centre showroom on December 23, having told the 20 staff that the firm could no longer continue trading and that liquidators had been called in.

Bauer Millett is 40 years old and family-run. Aside from holding the Fiat-Chrysler franchise, the company also dealt in high-end performance and luxury cars. Back in the 1990s, Bauer Millett became the UK’s first official retailer for Hummer 4x4s.

Lawrence Millett and Chris Bauer set up the business in a Manchester suburb, then moved to a couple of city locations before taking up its most recent home close to the Hilton Hotel. Bauer Millett also operated a workshop and service centre at Ardwick. Mitch Millett took over the business in 2005 following the death of his father.

Mr Millett told the Manchester Evening News: “The competition within the network was extreme and being a city centre site the reality is that our overheads were unusually high. Even if you could sell the cars the margins simply weren’t there – it was a very expensive business because of its location.

“We tried to refocus on the North American cars we’d been working with the for the last 20 years, but we still had the problem that the overheads were too great for the opportunity represented.”

“Bauer Millett has always been a business known for being in the city centre – but the reality is the motor trade is going through a revolution. More businesses are closing down than opening, the industry is consolidating into big PLCs, and the competition is much more fierce.”

Elsewhere, Pendragon has closed its Stratstone motorcycle outlet in Leicester only four years after the £1.5m development was completed. The outlet sold Triumph motorcycles.

Tags: Bauer Millett, Fiat Chrysler, liquidator