ON ALMOST the second anniversary of acquiring Newmans in Canterbury, Barretts has shown faith in BMW by building a new dealership on a brownfield site in Broad Oak Road. The business has been renamed Broad Oak - with a new telephone number (01227 828888) - and the building has been equipped with the latest maintenance systems. Facilities include spacious showrooms (one for BMW and one for Mini), customer waiting areas and plenty of parking space.

Visitors to the sales department can join celebrations to mark the launch of the dealership and the company's centenary. A spokesman for Newmans said the business has "massively outgrown" the facilities where the BMW franchise had operated for the last 20 years.

Additionally, the staff had operated from "unacceptably cramped" conditions. "After a brief review of the situation, the company realised that the only acceptable solution was to relocate the business into a building sufficiently sized to cope with the rapidly expanding range of BMW motor cars and, of course, the latest addition to the family, the new Mini."

A plot was quickly purchased last year and the builders, Cardy Construction, started work in April. "The net result of all the hard work since the spring is that we now have a new dealership that offers a tremendous improvement over our previous premises."

The service department has been planned to reflect today's changing requirements. Shortened service schedules and lengthened intervals need minimum turnaround time. The workshop has provisions for two express service bays, eight ramps, a valeting area and car wash facility.