Turners Cars expands into Whanganui with new branch at former Castle property

Turners Cars has announced a new branch in Whanganui after buying 24-28 Liffiton St, which used to be home to The Castle Eatery and Bar, formerly Liffiton Castle. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown

Turners Auto Retail has announced a new branch in Whanganui on the former site of landmark property The Castle Bar and Eatery.

The company will invest about $4.5 million to design and develop the new branch at 24-28 Liffiton St.

The property had been operating as a restaurant since 1980 and was most recently an Indian restaurant, The Castle Bar and Eatery. It was previously known as Liffiton Castle.

In November, property owner Neville Gorrie told the Chronicle an agent made him an offer he could not refuse, which resulted in him selling.

Turners said it expected to spend the next year developing the branch, which would require demolishing the castle-like building.

It is likely to open to customers in April next year.

The branch will buy and sell vehicles, and offer on-site finance and insurance.

There will be a wide selection of used cars, including ex-lease and Japanese imports, a weekly auction and retail sales.

Turners Auto Retail chief executive Greg Hedgepeth said the dealership would enable it to buy more local cars.

“Our nearby branches in Palmerston North and New Plymouth have had great success, and this new branch in Whanganui will allow us to better serve the region,” Hedgepeth said.

“It’s something that we’ve been considering for a while now and we’re very happy to be able to expand the network into Whanganui – it definitely meets our criteria and it’s great to be able to invest in an important area of New Zealand.”

Hedgepeth said there was “still plenty of water to go under the bridge” with the development but the Turners team were working hard to open on the targeted date.