Newsletter - February 2009

Athol Garage ahead of schedule.

Work on new premises for one of the Island.s longest-established motor trade operations is a month ahead of schedule.

The keys to Athol Garage.s new 5000 sq.ft building at Balthane Road, Ballasalla have been handed over by Heritage Homes to the company's co-directors David and Mark Quayle who will be open for business on Monday March 2.

Relocation from Peel Road to the one-acre Ballasalla site, located just 100 yards from the junction with Douglas Road, marks the beginning of a new era for this third-generation family business that specializes in car hire and is the Island's Nissan franchised dealer.

Managing director Mark Quayle said: "We're extremely optimistic about the move to Ballasalla and the company's future in general. At a time when the effects of the global economic downturn are being felt even in the Isle of Man, we're pleased to report record sales in 2008 and that Athol Garage continues to enjoy consistently high rankings in customer satisfaction survey results for both car sales and after sales throughout the Nissan UK network, numbering around 350 dealers in total. For customer service, Athol Garage has featured consistently in the top 10 UK Nissan dealer rankings for after sales for the last three years with a local new car market penetration share well above Nissan's UK national average.".

Sales director David Quayle said: "In addition, our long established car hire operation supported by the main dealership continues to be strong despite the less than favorable current economic climate. We're also pleased to confirm there have been no redundancies and no employee has left the company because of the impending move. On the back of all this we're looking forward to the relocation as it will bring many benefits to customers and the Athol Garage workforce."

Mark Quayle said: "Our customers and 24-strong Athol Garage team have tolerated the Peel Road premises long enough. The Balthane Road site brings all our operations under one roof and offers generous parking and a bright and spacious showroom where taking centre stage will be the 2009 Nissan Murano and new 09 Note models. We will also be just moments away from our vehicle rental operation at Isle of Man Airport where we have retained our Athol Car Hire counter in the airport terminal."

"That the building has been completed ahead of schedule is testimony to the tremendous support we.ve had from the many Manx sub-contractors involved on the project."

"Given that the continued success of Athol Garage is down to our commitment to going that extra mile for customers, we're confident that in relocating from Douglas to Ballasalla our customers will also be willing to go that extra mile or two."