RMB announce £4.5 million investment in Darlington

RMB have agreed the purchase of a four-acre site on Yarm Road, Darlington for the development of a state-of-the-art Toyota Centre, a new all makes van centre plus a new Renault & Dacia Centre. This will replace the temporary facility on McMullen Road.

The Managing Director of RMB Robert Bennett, says “Since being awarded the Renault and Dacia franchises for Darlington & Northallerton we have been working on ideas for a redevelopment on McMullen Road. Towards the end of last year, we realised that a move to Yarm Road was going to be the best prospect for the business, due to the ongoing growth in our Toyota business but also the fantastic prospects for our Renault and Dacia business. Since opening our Renault Northallerton showroom in 2015 and expanding a temporary facility in Darlington, we have been amazed at the interest there has been in Renault & Dacia, who have recently been awarded Franchise of the Year by Automotive Management Magazine."

Bennett goes on to say “Toyota and Renault both have some exciting and ground breaking products in the alternative fuel segment and have some of Europe’s best selling vans and pickups. I am also excited by the focus Renault has on their sport models and recent return to Formula 1, which should be great for the brand image. As part of the new development we will also be incorporating a new Renault Sport Centre which will be one of only 28 in the UK specialising in Renault Sport cars. There will also be a Business User Centre which will cater for all business users needs in the North of England”

Plans which will soon be submitted to Darlington Planning for consideration will include the building of two dealerships and a dedicated display area for vans. The new site is just half a mile from the existing dealership on McMullen Road, which will continue to be operated as a dealership though it is not known with what franchise at this stage.

The new site is located on Yarm Road on the site of the former Torrington Bearing Works, between the Darlington Retail Park and new Travelodge. It will be accessed from Barrington Way and will form part of the new business development, which was created by the firm Commercial Developments Limited of Elland near Halifax. The new development will result in the creation of a further 15 jobs once all existing employees have relocated from McMullen Road. It is also anticipated that a further 20 jobs will be created at McMullen Road.

Recruitment for all new roles at the RMB Darlington has commenced and vacancies are available to view under our Careers section of the website.