Published: Wednesday, 26th August, 2009 1:00pm

Casey's Autogroup goes into voluntary liquidation

Casey's Autogroup, which has branches in Athlone, Roscommon town and Carrick-on-Shannon in Leitrim, went into voluntary liquidation last week with the loss of more than 60 jobs across the three branches.

Directors of the company secured the appointment of a provisional liquidator at the High Court on Friday and it is understood staff were informed at a meeting on Friday evening.

The car sales group was an authorised dealer for Ford, Kia, Honda and Volvo and had sizeable operations here in Athlone and the other two towns.

The autogroup began life as Peter Casey and Sons in Roscommon town in 1925 and later expanded into Athlone and then Carrick-on-Shannon. In 2006 it took on the Kia franchise and last year added the Honda and Volvo brands to the Athlone garage.

Peter Casey and Sons, which trades as Casey AutoGroup, recorded a turnover of €26 million for the year up to May 31, 2008, with an operating profit of €293,231. The accounts also report that among its lenders, AIB held a letter of guarantee for €381,000, while Permanent TSB held personal guarantees from the directors, Peter and James Casey.

While the phone rings out at the Athlone branch and appears to be off the hook at the Carrick-on-Shannon, a recorded message at the Roscommon number informs callers that Peter Casey & Sons Ltd has gone into liquidation, effective August 21, 2009, and advises callers to leave a message and their query will be dealt with as soon as possible.