What's the news?
The Joe Duffy Group is set to invest heavily in the Irish market over the next three years. €20m is to be spent on the development of two new dealerships at the Airside Retail Park in Swords, Dublin, on which work has commenced this week. These comprise of a new flagship Jaguar Land Rover facility, along with a Volvo and Kia dealership, which will then be rebranded under the Joe Duffy name upon completion in November, marking a shift from the current trading name of HB Dennis.
The investment follows on from significant growth for the group over the last number of years. Employee numbers now stand at 410, a 50 per cent increase since 2013, with a turnover of nearly €300m predicted for this year. There are also plans afoot to rebrand its Volkswagen and Ford businesses under the Joe Duffy moniker, after the recent acquisition of the Karmann Volkswagen facility. This is an indicator of the recent resurgence in the Irish motor industry as a whole, which can only be good news for businesses and buyers alike.
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The group currently runs 14 dealerships throughout Dublin, Meath and Limerick with 15 brands represented, including Audi, Mazda and Porsche. Gavin Hydes, CEO of the group states that: ''This investment strategy is another essential step in our growth plans for the Joe Duffy Group. We look forward to these new state-of-the-art dealerships which further demonstrate our commitment to our manufacturer partners, confidence in the industry and our strategy to provide first class facilities for our customers. This investment will provide an opportunity for our people and also see further job creation over the next three years".