A major name in Gloucestershire's motorbike and car retailing that went from scratch to a turnover of £70m has hit the buffers with news that it went into administration today.

The announcement confirmed suspicions that the largely family-owned Completely Motoring Ltd (CM), which is based at Staverton and Gloucester, was heading into financial danger.

The business was kickstarted in 2009 by Rob Ayland, former boss of Colt Cars Mid West Ltd, in the wake of his redundancy. Along with sons George and James, the company flourished amid steady growth, but blames poor sales this summer as its undoing.

Attempts by Punchline-Gloucester.com to obtain a statement from CM boss Rob Ayland went unresponded this week, but the new and used seller of cars and motorbikes was confirmed to be in administration at lunchtime today, with an urgent call for any potential buyer to come forward.

The statement said: "Completely Motoring Limited, John Wilkins (Motor Engineers) Ltd, and Thunder Road Motorcycles Ltd ("the group") have all entered administration. Jonathan Amor, a Restructuring Partner and licenced Insolvency Practitioner with UK top ten accounting and advisory firm Azets, has been appointed Joint Administrator of the leading new and used vehicle Group, along with Matthew Richards (Azets), and Alessandro Sidoli (Xeinadin Corporate Recovery Limited).

"The Joint Administrators are urging interested parties to make contact as soon as possible to maximise the chances of securing the future of the £70 million turnover group."

In total, the group employs 165 people across 14 showrooms and 11 locations spanning Wales and the South West of England.

Joint Administrator Jonathan Amor, said: "Unfortunately, the Group has encountered financial difficulties after a poor summer sales period. As a result, the group has been placed into administration to protect it. We are exploring sale options with interested parties."

He added that several expressions of interest had been received.

"We urge any other parties to make contact as soon as possible, with a view to securing a future for the group and saving as much of the business, and as many jobs, as possible."

● In 2020, Punchline-Gloucester.com reported on CM's ability to buck Pandemic trends, by adding Clearwater Cars as a new business to the group, taking on a fresh brand and recording record sales figures.