One of Ireland's most visible Ford dealers, Lillis-O'Donnell - located right at the nexus of the M50 and M7 motorways and the Luas red line - has become part of the burgeoning Spirit Motor Group. Spirit, which already holds franchises for Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, Skoda and Ford, says that it will maintain all of the existing 25 jobs at the dealer, bringing the total to 130 employees within the Spirit Motor Group.
The plan is to also establish a Ford Transit Centre of Excellence in nearby Baldonnell Business Park in west Dublin, near to premises already owned by Spirit's parent group, OHM.
Commenting on the announcement, dealer principal Sean Lillis said: "We are very excited about this new development and we are delighted to be joining the team at Spirit Motor Group. We know that this new initiative will further enhance the Ford experience for all our many loyal customers."
Gerard O'Farrell, Managing Director of Spirit Motor Group said: "The merging of the very successful Lillis O'Donnell business with Spirit Ford's operations will enable Spirit Motor Group to offer a premium quality ownership experience to many Ford customers, stretching from South East Dublin to South West Dublin from three prominent locations. We look forward to working with all of the team from Lillis O'Donnell Motor Company in expanding our customer offer and growing the Ford brand in Dublin."
Spirit has been in acquisitive mood of late. Last December it swallowed up Derek Burton 4x4 sales in Wicklow (see more on that here) and has previously established Spirit Premium, which offers high end second hand cars.
Along with the similar expansion of the Joe Duffy Group, it's yet another step along the path of increasingly large dealer groups in Ireland.