Fire-hit car dealer on heartbreak of job losses

A boss at a large car dealership has described the "heartbreak" of making staff redundant for the first time after a "devastating" fire.

Philip Skinner, joint managing director of Ron Skinner and Sons, said there had been "sleepless nights" and "a lot of worry" following the blaze which ripped through its site in Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent, in August.

But he also spoke of his family's determination to rebuild and said the recent opening of a new showroom in the town was a "new era" for the company.

More than 350 cars were destroyed in the fire, alongside machinery, with Mr Skinner estimating that losses run into the millions, with 18 recent redundancies.

The fire was first reported early on Saturday 16 August.

"By the time I got here, the entire building was totally ablaze and I was just amazed at the scale of it, I couldn't believe what was going on," said Mr Skinner.

He was initially confused to see firefighters only working on the outer edges of the building, but was told the "intensity of the fire due to the stock was so great, [that] to put water on would have caused a bigger fire".

In the hours that followed Philip and his brother Mark, also a managing director, were "in a state of shock".

But they knew they had to visit their mother, 88-year-old Rachel Skinner, who set up the business with her husband, the late Ron Skinner, in 1968.

"Calling in at seven o'clock in the morning, I didn't want to frighten her but I had to tell her," he said.

"She had a good 10-minute cry. But she is a proper business lady and by about two o'clock that afternoon, sitting around my mother's dining table with my brother, it was very much: 'Boys, time to roll up your sleeves, and get it put back up'."

But the journey to realise that ambition and open a new showroom in Tredegar at the end of last month has been "very difficult", he admitted.

"Nothing was recoverable - everything completely destroyed, even cars that were outside were burnt to shells."

There were wages and "large bills" still to be paid, with things going "down to the wire" in those initial weeks.

Family and friends put money into the business, which also has showrooms in Cardiff, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire.

Eventually talks with the insurance company made the brothers realise they would have to make some job losses.

According to Mr Skinner, who started in the company's workshop 43 years ago, that was a first.

"It was very difficult and I had to stand back," he said. "It was still heartbreaking to see the people I have worked with for so long take voluntary redundancy and leave."

Before the fire 164 people worked for the company, 18 people have taken redundancy in recent weeks.

For those that remain, including Jonathan Robinson, 32, a sales manager, the goal has been the opening weekend.

"The response has been immense," said Mr Robinson, who has worked for the firm for 12 years.

"We weren't really expecting the turnout that we got in Storm Bert but it was so refreshing to see the love for the company throughout the community."

The new showroom in Tredegar is not as big as the old one, but there are plans to expand in time.

"We are very positive for the future," said Philip Skinner.

"It feels like going back 25 years to one of our oldest sites and kicking off again - this is the start of what will be a new era."