A Brief History of the Renrod Ltd & Platinum

1976

The starting point was with the Westward Renault dealership at Manor Road in Frome, followed by an expansion into Bath during 1976 with the dual franchise Wellsway site offering BMW and Alfa Romeo. By 1980, the decision was taken to represent the growing BMW brand as a solus franchise from Wellsway, which included the BMW motorcycle franchise during the early 1980’s until BMW’s strategy to separate the car and motorcycle networks resulted in the company choosing to concentrate on BMW cars.

1980

Also in 1980, the company purchased the former Bear Garage on Wells Road in Bath, just around the corner from Wellsway. It was from this site that Westward Renault moved into Bath, as a sister site to Westward Renault in Frome. In 1983, the company acquired a Vauxhall dealership called Frome Garages.

1986

This coincided with a change in Renault’s representation plans resulting in Westward Renault in Frome and Bath being merged onto the same site in Bath. The Frome Garages business was then relocated onto the Manor Road site where it has remained ever since.

In 1986, the former Roman City bus depot was acquired and was subsequently modified to become the head office and vehicle preparation centre and later, the Roman City Accident Repair Centre.

1987

The success of Westward Renault on Wells Road resulted in the site being inadequate for the needs of the business and a new site was sought in Bath. The availability of the Volvo franchise in Bath allowed the development of a larger "mirror image" development, housing both franchises, on the Lower Bristol Road in 1987.

The Georgian Motors site was used for vehicle storage and valeting during the recession of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s but it was earmarked for the new Wellsway BMW development.

1993

In 1993, Westward’s satellite dealership, Saxon Garage in Bradford-on-Avon, was acquired after the sudden death of the owner and also, in the same year, St. Martins Nissan in Box was purchased.

1996

When trading became more favourable after the recession, work began on developing the new Wellsway BMW site. The dealership represented a considerable investment in the future of modern vehicle retailing, and was opened in February 1996. The resulting site was considered a benchmark within the BMW Dealer Network.

1996

1996 also saw Roman Volvo become Roman Toyota. A change of representation plans within the Volvo franchise resulted in no requirement for a Bath based dealership, hence the successful switch to the Toyota franchise.

1998

During May 1998, the company incorporated Millmead Mitsubishi, also on the Lower Bristol Road in Bath and close to the new Wellsway. The Millmead site was then refurbished and benefited from the addition of the emerging Skoda franchise.

1998

The company emerged as the preferred candidate for the takeover of the neighbouring Vauxhall dealership GK Group which was completed in July 1998. The incorporation of GK Group then facilitated the same process again in 1999 whereby the company purchased Chippenham Vauxhall dealership Cyril. H. Thomas. The three Vauxhall dealerships were then united under the name of "Platinum."

1999

Also, during 1999, a similar analysis by the Renault franchise resulted in the company taking over Buckland’s Garage in Chippenham to complete a trio of Renault sites. Buckland’s Garage was renamed as Westward and now trades as Platinum Renault. August 1999 also saw the launch of Renrod Financial Solutions (now Platinum Financial Solutions), a dedicated finance office committed to offering expertise in the latest finance packages available, including to those with past credit problems.

2000

The millennium year saw a new set of challenges for the group as the company consolidated its position after the expansion programme of 1998 and 1999 by embracing new ideas such as information technology and the internet whilst retaining the original values that made the company successful in the first place.

The MINI franchise had been added alongside BMW at Wellsway, which proved tremendously popular. The company had also developed a mobile cosmetic body repair service called The Hitman.

2001

In November 2001, the company acquired the former Northfield Toyota site in Warminster, which was subsequently renamed as Roman to form a sister dealership to the site in Bath.

2004

The "Meridian Project" – a state of the art motor park development in Trowbridge to house the Vauxhall, Toyota, Renault and Nissan franchises. The development re-housed three existing businesses (Roman Toyota in Warminster, Saxon Garage in Bradford on Avon and Platinum Vauxhall in Trowbridge) and added a second Nissan dealership to the group.

Platinum Vauxhall in Chippenham and Roman Toyota in Bath also received major refurbishments to bring them to the cutting edge of automotive retailing.

2004

As of October 1st those branches not already carrying the name were united under the single trading title of Platinum. The purpose of the name change was to achieve a common trading title across the group of dealerships wherever possible.

On the 20th December 2004, the company was proud to open the "Platinum" Motor Park in Trowbridge. The development took approximately 9 months to build and features the latest standards in automotive retailing.

2008

January 2008 saw the group expand again, this time with the acquisition of the Causeway Saab business in Chippenham. The company executed a programme of growth and improvement of the existing business, working closely with the dealership team and the Saab franchise.

2008

In the late summer of 2008, the group relocated the Skoda franchise to operate alongside Renault on the Lower Bristol Road in Bath, making way for the brand separation of the MINI franchise from BMW. The new Wellsway MINI opened in November 2008, with the dealership retaining the Mitsubishi franchise in the form of Approved Repairer and supplier of parts.

2009

The spring of 2009 saw the company merge its Platinum Renault operation in Chippenham with the Causeway Saab business, which became Platinum Saab in the process, with the dealership continuing to offer the Saab franchise with the addition of Renault Approved Repairs using genuine parts and accessories.

Also, in October 2009, the company was delighted to announce the addition of the Hyundai franchise in Chippenham, sharing facilities with Saab and Renault.

2009

In Trowbridge, the group has added to its large portfolio of trade parts business with the addition of an Express Factors franchise offering "all makes" Unipart components, which operates from the Platinum Motor Park. Finally, the group added a second Hyundai dealership (in Frome alongside Vauxhall), and were appointed as a Dacia retailer, which is housed at Platinum Renault in Trowbridge.

2016

In 2016, as a result of BMW/MINI restructuring their network in favour of regional clusters of ownership, the group sold the Wellsway/BMW site in Bath and its BMW Approved Bodyshop in Bath, but retained the Platinum Group.

2019

In early 2019, the Platinum Group commenced and completed a project to expand the Platinum Motor Park in terms of bringing an extra brand to the site in the form of Hyundai. To achieve this, the Toyota brand was re-housed in an excellent conversion of the former valeting bay, which paved the way for Platinum Hyundai to open in Trowbridge. As part of this project, the group also added the emerging SsangYong brand in Frome to replace the Hyundai brand relocating to Trowbridge.

2020

During the Summer of 2020 Platinum Vauxhall Frome Sales was replaced by Platinum Select Cars, to sit alongside Platinum SsangYong. Platinum Select Cars is a new sub-brand for the Platinum Motor Group offering quality, handpicked used cars. The Frome site will remain an approved service centre for Vauxhall, Hyundai and Ssangyong vehicles. Autumn 2020 also saw the opening of Platinum SsangYong Chippenham Approved Repairer.

2022

In June 2022, in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Platinum Motor Group completed the acquisition of the long established A.K.S. Renault/Dacia business in Yeovil following the retirement of its’ owner and founder. This opportunity created a large single Renault and Dacia territory into which the company can sell and serve Renault and Dacia customers.

2023

In October 2023, Platinum Nissan Box (nr. Bath) underwent an incredible transformation into Platinum Select PLUS, another sub brand for the Platinum Motor Group. Dedicated to offering a selection of high quality pre-owned cars and the site remained as an Approved Repairer centre for Nissan.

2024

In February 2024, following the retirement of its owner and managing director, the Platinum Motor Group completed the acquisition of the long established Pebley Beach Hyundai and Suzuki businesses based in Swindon, where it operates both Hyundai and Suzuki, and Cirencester where it operates Suzuki only.

Regarding Suzuki, the Group welcomed a new brand partner into its portfolio of franchises.

2024

The Platinum Motor Group joined forces with a new brand partner at our Frome branch, namely the Chinese manufactured brands of OMODA and its' sub-brand JAECOO, new entrants to the UK market.

The dealership officially opened to the public in late summer of 2024.

2024

In September, Platinum Motor Group joined forces with the Citroën brand at the Platinum Motor Park in Trowbridge, sharing facilities with our existing and long-established Vauxhall dealership.

In addition to offering the range of Citroën cars, we will also offer the full aftercare package of servicing, diagnostics, repairs, MOT Testing, and genuine parts and accessories.

2026

After nearly two and a half years, our Box dealership was welcomed back as a Nissan Sales Main Dealer, marking a significant moment for the business.

This enabled us to once again provide the complete range of Nissan services under one roof, including new vehicle sales, approved used Nissan vehicles through Nissan Intelligent Choice, manufacturer-approved servicing and repairs, genuine Nissan parts and accessories, as well as MOTs and routine maintenance. Complementing the same full range of services already offered at our Trowbridge dealership.