Jemca Invests More Than £10 Million in New Lexus Centres
An investment of more than £10 million from automotive retail group Jemca will see the opening of two new Lexus centres in north London and Kent this year and the redevelopment of one of its aftersales facilities.
Building of a new Lexus centre at a high profile site on the Edgware Road in Colindale, north London, at a cost of almost £8 million is now underway. Its current centre will receive a half-a-million pound refurbishment to create a dedicated aftersales facility. In addition, the current Lexus Bromley centre will relocate to its new £2.5 million site at Ruxley Corner in Sidcup when it will be renamed Lexus Sidcup.
Lexus Sidcup is expected to be open by late March and will be fully operational by April with a launch event scheduled for 1st May 2008. The new car display will double with space for six vehicles and there will be a 25-vehicle used car display. However, as part of Jemca each centre has direct access to more than 100 cars in group stock. The new team at Lexus Sidcup will consist of members of the current Lexus Bromley team but it is expected the new business will expand with future plans being the creation of a fleet sales facility.
The new two-storey, 10-car Lexus Edgware Road facility, which also includes a VIP area, is being built on the Edgware Road cornering Hillfield Avenue and Woodfield Avenue and will be a national flagship centre for the brand. Work is schedule to be completed by middle to late summer with a high profile launch event in October. Lexus Edgware Road will continue to operate at its current facility – behind its sister business Jemca Toyota further south on the Edgware Road which will also be refurbished to provide a dedicated aftersales centre.
Both new showrooms will be as high-tech and forward-thinking as the vehicles it will display, built to exacting Lexus standards and will include the hallmark, eye-catching curved, frameless glass façade and stylish entrance.
Jemca’s Lexus brand manager Mark Sinclair says: “Together with the Lexus brand, our businesses have grown significantly over the years to the point where we needed much more space. Both these developments represent a major investment on our part and reflects our commitment to both our customers and Lexus GB. Opening two new centres, one of which will be a flagship centre for the UK, is a massive project but very exciting, we are all looking forward to moving into our new homes.”