Speaking at the awards CEO of Great Place to Work John Ryan congratulated Merlin Group on this achievement: “I wish to congratulate you on the superb achievement of being recognised as one of the Best Small Workplaces in Ireland 2012. Your ongoing commitment to your people practices within your organisation has been an inspiration to many and has set a bar for other organisations. This is an achievement worth celebrating and communicating because by creating a great workplace you are establishing a firm base for business success in 2012 and beyond”.

The Best Workplaces study, which is now in its tenth year, uses confidential employee feedback to identify employers who follow a policy of creating positive workplaces in which management build high-trust relationships with their employees, based on mutual respect. Great Place to Work conducts similar studies in forty-five countries worldwide.

We have won a number of awards over the last two years including the Deloitte Best Managed Company in 2011, Innovation of the Year trophy at the SIMI Awards in 2010 and being nominated for an Eircom Spider award.

Dave Byrne, Managing Director of Merlin Group commented, “We are delighted to have won this accolade, especially as it is the first year that the Great Places to Work Awards have included a category for businesses with less than 50 employees.  We constantly strive to provide a happy and engaging environment for our employees.  We scored 84% in the staff confidential surveys which reflects the work we put in to maintaining good working relationships and support for all of our employees.”

The event promises unbeatable value on a wide range of cars.  The lots feature a fantastic selection including nearly new and high quality vehicles that will appeal to every buyer type. Prestige car owners will be interested in the 2008 Audi A4 2.0 TDI Saloon 4DR, 2007 Land Rover Range Rover 2.7TD Sport Auto 5DR, 2008 BMW 318I 4DR with family buyers enticed by 2010 Nissan Qashqai Plus 2 1.5DSL 5DR, 2008 Ford Mondeo 1.8TDCi LX 5DR, 2007 Skoda Octavia 1.9TDi Elegance 5DR. The auction also promises lots of choice for those seeking a smaller engine size with 2011 & 2010 Opel Corsa SC 1.2I 5DR, 2011 Nissan Micras & 2009 Toyota Yaris NG 1.0 Luna 5DR for auction. Commercial drivers have a wide selection of choice to include: 2010 Volkswagen Caddy 2.0 DSD 6DR, 2006 Nissan X-Trail 2.2DSL 4X2 City Commercial. The sale will feature in excess of twenty different brands of car.

David Byrne, Group Managing Director said “We are delighted to host this auction on behalf of Windsor and Windsor Fleet. There is a massive interest in the October 22^nd auction with a very high level of calls coming through to our sales team. We are expecting a huge number of bidders looking for a bargain and we would encourage bidders to arrive early to get ahead of the crowds. There has been a shortage of high quality used cars in the Irish market for a number of months and this event promises to deliver quality cars at very affordable prices. The choice and quality of vehicles on offer exceeds many of the auctions held this year.”

Merlin Car Auctions is the largest auction house in Ireland with 2 weekly auctions in Naas, Co. Kildare every Wednesday at 7pm and every Saturday at 11am. All Merlin auctions are open to the public.

A full catalogue is available at www.merlincarauctions.ie/windsor and the vehicles are available to view prior to the auction.

Director General of SIMI, Alan Nolan (pictured) says, “the overall market remains very fragile. The months immediately following the ending of Scrappage were always going to be challenging. However, the year to date figures are still quite positive; with New Cars (+10%), Light Commercials (+12%) and Heavy Commercials (+3%) all remaining ahead of last year’s figures at this stage.”

In summary:

• New car sales up 10% for the year, 81,176 sold so far this year
• July sales down 35% on last July (First Month after ending of Scrappage Scheme)
• 22% increase in number of diesel cars sold (now represent 71% of all new cars sold)
• Petrol accounts for 27% of all new cars sold this year, reduction of 8% on last year
• Silver is still the most popular car colour
• LGV up 12% year to date
• HGV up 2.5% year to date

We are delighted to announce that Merlin Car Auctions were awarded the highly respected accolade of Deloitte Best Managed Company at an award ceremony held in the Burlington Hotel in Dublin on Friday (4^th March 2011). The Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards Programme recognises indigenous Irish companies across the island of Ireland that are operating at the highest levels of business performance. The programme seeks to identify best-managed companies through an evaluation process that extends beyond financial results. 

We were bestowed a second award on Friday by Dr. Tom Mc Carthy of the Irish Management Institute in special recognition of our application and we have been rewarded with the opportunity for a member of our management team to undertake a post graduate diploma course with the IMI. 

We underwent a number of phases in the competition and benefited from the advice and feedback of coaches, Ronan Nolan and Pascal Brennan from Deloitte and Irish Life Corporate Business during the process.

This is the second award that we have received in recent months.  We also received the Innovation of the Year award at the Irish Motor Industry Awards in November.  This was for the Merlin Live Online facility which has revolutionised auctioneering by allowing interested parties to log on from anywhere and partake in the auction taking place in Naas or Kylemore. 

We are delighted to have received the very prestigious award.  We have been working hard to keep our company operating at the highest standards for our customers at all times.  We continue to push the boundaries of innovation.  Just last week we held our first exclusively online auction which was a fantastic success.  Our objective for our online sales is to extend our service to reach more people and make buying a car online a simple and convenient purchase.

Deloitte’s Ronan Nolan, who acted as Merlin’s mentor in preparation for the awards commented “I was most impressed with Merlin’s management style from our very first meeting with David Byrne and his colleagues. They demonstrated a very clear approach to planning and communication, and in particular have a great ability to adapt to challenging business conditions. I believe Merlin Car Auctions are very worthy winners of the Deloitte Best Managed Companies Award.”

Motorists looking to buy or sell their car should head to Merlin Car Auctions this month as there is a hugely exciting line up for auction. Thursday January 13^th will see the launch of the weekly “GIMME 5” sale at Merlin’s Dublin auction centre. Merlin will also host what they believe will be their largest “Massive No Reserve Liquidation & Ex Finance Auction” in Naas on Saturday January 15^th.

GIMME 5 offers the bidder a chance to drive away with a fantastic car for anything between €500 and €5,000 which includes all auction and registration fees. To celebrate the launch of the weekly GIMME 5 sale, Merlin are offering sellers a New Years treat, with the opportunity to enter their car for free! Usually the cost to enter a car into the auction is €90 so it’s a great way to showcase your car to thousands of buyers at no cost.  Merlin will auction a large selection of cars every Thursday in Kylemore at 7pm. Further details are available at www.merlincarauctions.ie/kylemore.

The Massive No Reserve Liquidation & Ex Finance Auction will have over 350 vehicles up for auction to include over 150 ex-finance and liquidation vehicles. In 2010, Merlin held a large number of liquidation sales but believe that the sale on Saturday 15^th from 11am will offer the best selection and value to date.

Huge savings are on offer at both auctions with many cars going under the gavel for up to 50% less than their recommended retail value.  Bidders who are unable to attend the auctions need not worry as they can bid online from the comfort of their home or office with the award winning Merlin Live Online.

David Byrne, Managing Director of Merlin Car Auctions said, “The new year is a great time to invest in a new car or free up some cash by selling your car.  We are catering for different budgets by offering fantastic bargains for under €5,000 with GIMME 5 and an outstanding selection of ex finance and liquidation vehicles.”

January’s auction calendar with an exciting run of auctions promises unbeatable value on a wide range of cars at Merlin’s two auction centres. With auctions running every Thursday in Kylemore and every Wednesday at 7pm and Saturday at 11am, over 1000 vehicles will be auctioned weekly at Merlin Car Auctions. All Merlin auctions are open to the public.

Speaking about the scheme, Alan Nolan, Director General of SIMI says, “With close to 17,500 scrappage cars sold last year, the Government Scheme provided the Industry with a real boost which saw overall business increase by over 50%. Ending the year with car sales up 55% on 2009, there is no doubt that this was directly due to the stimulus provided by the Scrappage Scheme. With the continuation of the scheme for the first six months of this year, we predict that a further 10,000 cars are likely to be sold under the Scheme. It will again, offer customers incredible value and will deliver significant additional revenues for the Exchequer. Last year, Scrappage Scheme cars alone generated €57m for the Government.”

“Remember that Scrappage cars represented only around a fifth of total new car sales last year. The real benefit of the Scheme is the positive knock-on effect it has had on the overall new and used car sectors. As a result of the positive sentiment generated by the Scheme, non-scrappage new car sales also increased from 57k in 2009 to just over 71k last year, an increase of a quarter on the previous year.”

“Although it is very early days to be drawing any conclusions, so far this year, footfall in showrooms has been strong, again largely due to the Scrappage Scheme, and this bodes well for the year ahead.” Nolan says.

Due to the huge crowds at the last Car2Cash road show in Cork, Merlin are asking those interested in selling their cars to make an appointment to avoid disappointment on the day.  Interested car owners can book an appointment by registering on www.car2cash.ie or by calling 045 988 700. 

Car sellers are asked to bring their car to the shopping centre not forgetting to bring along their vehicle licensing certificate and two forms of personal ID (either a passport or drivers license and a recent utility bill with their current address), along with details of the vehicle history.  All vehicles are accepted and the Merlin Sales Executives will complete a vehicle appraisal on arrival. On acceptance of the valuation, a sales order will be processed and Merlin will issue a cheque for the value of the vehicle, followed by the transfer of ownership of the vehicle to Merlin Car Auctions. It couldn’t be easier!

David Byrne, Managing Director of Merlin Car Auctions said, “We love coming to Cork because we get such a great reaction.  This will be our 8^th time to bring the road show to Cork. It’s a great opportunity for people to exchange their cars for cash on the same day!  We had huge crowds when we came in November so we are asking everyone to make an appointment in advance to avoid disappointment this time.”

For details on the Car2Cash Roadshow locations and dates visit www.car2cash.ie or call 045 988700.

Make Some Cash This January at the Limerick Car2Cash Roadshow

Calling all those in Limerick looking to make some extra cash this January. Merlin are bringing their hugely popular Car2Cash Road Show back to Limerick City.  If you are looking to sell your car in a quick and easy way you can make an appointment to come along to the Merlin Car2Cash road show at Parkway Shopping Centre on the Dublin Road on Saturday, 15^th January from 9am to 6pm and Sunday, 16^th January between 11am and 6pm.

Due to the huge crowds at the last Car2Cash road show in Limerick, Merlin are asking those interested in selling their cars to make an appointment to avoid disappointment on the day.  Interested car owners can book an appointment by registering on www.car2cash.ie or by calling 045 988 700. 

 Car sellers are asked to bring their car to the shopping centre not forgetting to bring along their vehicle licensing certificate and two forms of personal ID (either a passport or drivers license and a recent utility bill with their current address), along with details of the vehicle history.  All vehicles are accepted and the Merlin Sales Executives will complete a vehicle appraisal on arrival. On acceptance of the valuation, a sales order will be processed and Merlin will issue a cheque for the value of the vehicle, followed by the transfer of ownership of the vehicle to Merlin Car Auctions. It couldn’t be easier!

David Byrne, Managing Director of Merlin Car Auctions said, “We love coming to Limerick because we get such a great reaction.  This will be our 7^th time to bring the road show to Limerick. It’s a great opportunity for people to exchange their cars for cash on the same day!  We had huge crowds last time so we are asking everyone to make an appointment in advance to avoid disappointment.”

For details on the Car2Cash Roadshow locations and dates visit www.car2cash.ie or call 045 988700.