A TRIO of car dealerships are set to open next year in Solihull on the site of a former restaurant in a £10m project.
The former Dave & Busters restaurant sits on a four-acre site on the A34 Stratford Road, Shirley, and includes a 50,000 sq ft building.
It was acquired by Redditch-based Johnsons Cars from Warwick firm Gallagher Developments in order to open Volkswagen and Volvo dealerships as well as a third operator yet to be confirmed.
Johnsons plans to relocate its existing Volkswagen dealership from its base elsewhere on the A34 and its Volvo dealership from nearby Hampton-in-Arden to the new base.
Although the trio will occupy the same site, three separate buildings will be constructed to house the companies with Volvo and Volkswagen expected to take on extra staff as a result of the moves. All three are planned to be open in spring 2012.
The Dave & Busters building has been vacant for 10 years since the closure of the restaurant and had previously received planning consent for a B&Q warehouse as well as a possible casino.
Johnsons Cars plans to begin refurbishment work in November with the aim of opening a 30-car Volkswagen showroom – due to be the firm’s largest in the UK. It is not yet known how large the other two dealerships will be.
The company was established in 1999 and operates 21 dealerships in 15 locations including in Birmingham, Solihull, Sutton Coldfield and Tamworth.
Colliers International’s Birmingham office assisted Johnsons with both the purchase and obtaining planning permission.
Sign up for our weekly property news email: just click here
Click here to sign up to receive our new South West business news...
