A POPULAR shop which offers car parts, camping equipment and DIY products has announced it is closing, leaving dozens of locals ‘gutted’ and many of its staff jobless.
The store, which has been around for over 20 years, has entered voluntary liquidation, with a sale of its remaining stock due to take place later this month.
Autoplus Limited, based in Norton, Stockton, entered liquidation on March 10, leaving customers and staff devastated by the news.
Many of its employees lost their jobs while loyal customers expressed their disappointment at the news of the closure.
In a statement online, the business said: “Autoplus Norton has entered voluntary liquidation as of March 10.”
“The Liquidator is FRP Advisory, of 34 Falcon Court, Preston Farm Business Park, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 3TX.”
Sharing their frustration on social media, many fans described the store as a “lifeline” for affordable car and camping essentials and mentioned that they were “gutted” at the news.
One person said: “Oh no! Such a shame! The one place you know you could get sorted without been ripped off!”
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”
Another said: “Such a shame. I’ve consciously been using this local asset over the last few years rather than buy online to stop this from happening.
“Really nice people & so sad that this will probably end up as another empty boarded up shop.”
While a third wrote: “Such a shame! The demise of a good store with excellent staff.
“Always helpful, always got bits we needed for the motorhome more so than most of the big caravan dealers.”
Following the liquidation, the company’s leftover stock will be sold off in a public auction on Tuesday, March 25, at 11am at the store on Norton Road.
The auction, managed by FRP Advisory LLP, will include over 400 lots of automotive supplies, cycle parts, caravan accessories, electrical items, DIY goods, and household essentials.
On Companies House, the business is already listed as ‘in liquidation’, and the final documents have been filed for Autoplus Limited.
The business is already listed as ‘in liquidation’ on Companies House[/caption]
