ONE of the country's most established car dealerships has just unveiled a major rebrand with a major Cumbrian car group.

Bateman of Lindale has been recognised as one of the leading car showrooms in Cumbria and has been serving customers around South Lakeland for more than 40 years. 

However, the company has now been acquired by Lloyd Motor Group, which operates from its headquarters in Carlisle. 

Phil Stott, head of business with Bateman, has been with the company for 30 years and believes the merger will open up new opportunities for the business. 

He said: "I know it's a cliche but when one door closes another one opens and in this case it's a much bigger door that's opened. 

"We'll have the same staff, same people, same service but we will be able to offer our customers a far greater range of products." 

He continued: "It's exciting really. 

"Bateman is a small family run business so it's exciting to join a large group that will give us more choice and selection in the BMW and MINI world." 

Together, the companies will form the largest privately-owned BMW and MINI retailers in the country and will boast almost 90 years of experience between them. 

Bateman has been operating in South Cumbria for almost 50 years and has been dealing from its site in Lindale since April 2003. 

The dealership rebranded as Lloyds South Lakes on August 1 and will continue to serve the South Cumbria and North Lancashire area. 

It joins six other centres across the north of England and Scotland including Carlisle, Cockermouth, Newcastle, Blackpool, Colne and Kelso. 

The group has also bought land in Blackpool to develop a prestige used car centre. 

Bateman has 50 existing employees at the site and is looking to recruit between 10 to 20 per cent more staff members in the coming year. 

Bryan Lloyd, managing director of Lloyd Motor Group, is delighted to welcome Bateman on board. 

He said: “Bateman of Lindale is a perfect fit for us. 

"It complements our existing BMW/MINI offering across the North as it is similar to us in aspiration as well as sharing a passion for excellent customer service delivery.” 

Mr Stott finished: "Although Lloyd Motor Group is a much bigger company they are just like us and joining with them will bring a lot more opportunities and our customers will be able to benefit from that."