A LUXURY car dealership is reportedly going into liquidation as its director intends to file for bankruptcy.
Furious customers claimed they have been left distressed after the dealership “disappeared”, with some alleging they were owed payments from the sale of their cars.
Targa Florio Cars, a luxury dealer based in Chichester, West Sussex, closed at the end of December without any clear public explanation.
Customers were first alerted to the closure after finding its website taken offline, its telephone line no longer operational and its Google listing showing it as “permanently closed”.
Now, the company director William Kirkham has broken his silence, revealing the dealership is being placed into liquidation and is set to declare bankruptcy.
Customers left in the lurch after the company’s “disappearance” said they had been left without information about cars they had left with the dealership.
Some even claimed they could see the car had been sold, but had received no alert from the company, or payment from the proceeds of the sale.
Targa Florio Cars also operated a “sale or return” service which meant customers could leave their motors with the dealer to be sold on their behalf.
Under this system, it was expected profits would be transferred to the original owners once the sale was completed.
But multiple customers complained that this process had broken down in the lead up to the dealership’s sudden collapse, and were left furious when they could not reach Kirkham.
One reviewer on TrustPilot claimed the company sold their car and then “ghosted” them.
Another stated they were told in November that their car had sold but received no replies to repeated emails and WhatsApp messages through December and early January.
A BBC report highlighted stories of three separate customers who claimed the sale of their cars had been mishandled.
One angry customer, Kamrul Husan Sumon, told the BBC he had been left in a “really, really stressful” situation when he did not receive an expected £32,000 from the sale of his Volkswagen ID.7.
He said he was notified by the DVLA that the v5 logbook had been transferred to a new owner, but by November all messages from the dealership had stopped.
“It’s kind of affecting me every day mentally, emotionally, financially there’s quite a lot of things involved,” Kamrul said.
A statement from Kirkham’s solicitor to the BBC said Targa Florio Cars was going into insolvent liquidation, and the director intends to file for bankruptcy.
It said: “This decision has been taken following very difficult trading conditions, including black book realignment, the increase in business rates, national insurance and other business expenses.
“These increases have meant that it is impossible for the business to continue to trade.”
Renowned for selling high-class cars, ranging from top-of-the-range Audi SUVs through to Ferrari supercars and even classics, the dealer’s site at Walnut Farm Science Park was recently discovered empty with the landlord advertising it to let again.
Car Dealer Magazine, with the help of an accountancy expert, revealed that the company appeared to hold substantial value in stock with their cars – but had very little cash available.
Indeed, their findings discovered that in 2022 and 2023, more than £2.5 million of the company’s value was tied up in vehicles while cash in the bank was under £10,000 in both years.
In 2024, cash rose but only to about £44,764, while the 2025 accounts are not due until September.
The Sun could not get in contact with Kirkham, but the BBC now understands that the three customers featured in their original report have reached a financial settlement with the dealership.
Kirkham reportedly declined to comment on allegations customers could not get in contact with him.
He also declined to provide the BBC with a comment on claims the dealership had sold cars without notifying the owners and had not initially passed on profits from these sales.
Sussex Police has been contacted for comment.
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