Toyota dealership calls in receiver to Louth outlets

McCabes Garages of Co Louth, one of the longest-established Toyota dealers in Ireland, has gone into receivership. Located in large showroom facilities on the Duleek Road in Drogheda and on the Dublin-Derry Road outside Ardee, the family-run business has been a Toyota dealer for 37 years.

McCabes had invested significantly in new premises at both locations, moving to its high-profile showrooms in Ardee in 2005 and in Drogheda in 2006. While there had been up to 50 employees at both premises, it’s believed that numbers had fallen to about 30 recently.

The directors of the Ardee and Drogheda businesses are Patrick, Alicia and Hugh McCabe. The family has had a long history in the motor trade.

Accounts for the parent company McCabes Garage (Ardee) Ltd, for 2010 report that the former Anglo Irish Bank had loans of €5,674,555 due on McCabes of Ardee Ltd and €6,654,311 to McCabes Garage (Drogheda) Ltd. Both are subsidiaries of the parent company.

The last filed accounts for the business in Drogheda show that it had bank loans and overdrafts of €7,819,488. The auditor’s report stated that the business’s ability to continue as a going concern was “largely dependent on the financial support of its bank”.

In the same accounts, the firm’s principal asset – the freehold property – carried a value of €5,717,582. However, it had reduced its operating loss in 2010 to €145,529, down from €471,653 the previous year.

A statement from Toyota Ireland said: “The motor industry, right across the spectrum, has been under significant pressure as a result of the extraordinarily difficult economic climate prevailing in this country for the past five or so years.

“It is sad to see a company of the calibre of McCabes being forced into receivership as a result of this recession, following, as it does, on the closure of dealerships across a number of brands in recent times.”

The nearest main Toyota dealers for McCabe customers now are in Navan, Ashbourne and Dundalk.

New car registrations to the end of June were down 20 per cent on the same period last year. The receiver refused to comment on the situation yesterday.