A NORTH Yorkshire car dealership is expanding with the opening of two new showrooms in York, which will create 20 new jobs locally.

Batchelors Motor Group is set to open a Mitsubishi dealership and service centre on February 18 following the opening of its new Suzuki showroom at the end of 2018. Both sites are located on York Business Park in Nether Poppleton.

Lloyds Bank provided the company with a loan to support the £550,000 redevelopment of the units into car showrooms.

The funding follows Lloyds providing working capital support to the firm in 2016, when Batchelors set its sights on expanding its portfolio of showrooms.

The York openings are expected to help the family business double its turnover to £36million by 2020.

The new facilities will take the company’s total to five showrooms, and its staff base up to almost 60 employees – a 71 per cent increase since 2016.

Tony Denton, managing director at Batchelors Motor Group, said: “York continues to prove an outstanding market for automotive sales, and its proximity to our long-standing home and head-office in Ripon makes it the ideal location for expansion.

“2019 has begun in great fashion, with three major contracts ensuring we’ve already hit our target of supplying 300 Suzuki fleet units this year.

“Since re-banking with Lloyds Bank in 2016, it has proven to be an instrumental partner in helping us to expand.

“With its help, and through our commitment to customer care, we have every confidence that this latest investment will deliver a sustained contribution to our ambitious growth plan.”

Lee Rycraft, relationship director at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, added: “It’s fantastic to see the group creating more jobs and adding new sites to its portfolio.

“We’ve been at the side of Batchelors for three years, and our relationship has continued to grow, thanks to a positive and collaborative approach.

“Tony and his team strive to put the client first, which continues to help them deliver their business strategy.

“We’re committed to supporting the growth of businesses like this, which is why we’ve pledged to lend up to £1.4bn to Yorkshire firms in 2019, as part of our helping Britain prosper plan.”