DEVELOPERS are expected to be queuing up to buy one of the few remaining pieces of prime real estate land in the middle of the town centre after the news that Concours Motors are to relocate.

The motor company has occupied the town centre site in the High Street for almost 30 years.

But this week it was announced that the Peugeot dealership has been sold to family-owned Chichester company City Group, which owns a number of motor dealerships and franchises in the South.

Concours is expected to relocate to the site currently occupied by the Portfield Mercedes at Sturt Road next to The Herons leisure centre this summer. The Concours Motor Company name will remain unchanged.

The West Street, Haslemere, Concours Subaru and Isuzu business will be renamed and continue trading in its present showrooms under the new ownership of its present sales director Keith Pattison.

The move leaves a vacant High Street site of around one and a quarter acres with a substantial price tag. One of the best and very few pieces of expensive real estate left in the middle of the town, it is likely to attract heavy interest from prospective developers.

Jobs in the accident repair centre and paint shop will go in the move, but the company has promised there will be no large-scale redundancies, with both engineers and administration staff set to stay.

"We have been looking for a new site for some five years," Albert Hankers, one of the two directors of Concours Motors told a gathering of Haslemere Chamber of Trade members.

Mr Hankers emphasised that the excellent service and continuity of Haslemere's Peugeot dealership would remain and the name of Concours and its staff would continue to provide the same service on which it had built up its long reputation in the town.

With parking problems and other restraints on the High Street showroom, Mr Hankers said that manufacturers "have pressurised us to expand and we could not find a suitable site until the present Portfield site became available".

Both directors, the founder of Concours, Bernard Smith, and Mr Hankers will retire from the business this summer.

Mr Hankers told the meeting that the opportunity to re-locate came in January when Mercedes announced they were to close a large number of showrooms including Portfield, which is part of the City Group.

"I'm afraid it leaves another empty site in the High Street but hopefully we'll see something else there soon," said Mr Hankers, who is a former president of Haslemere Chamber of Trade.

Mr Hankers, who has been with the company for 28 years, said he was leaving with mixed feelings.

The High Street site was first bought 28 years ago by Bernard and Michael Smith ,who are not related.

Local rally driver Bernard Smith began by selling and servicing used cars as well as taking on refurbishment work on classic cars.

With the Peugeot franchise taking off, the business, said Mr Hankers had "snowballed."

Mr Hankers joined the company 24 years ago and Michael Smith left the business 15 years ago.

He joined as a warranty administrator, moving up the ladder to become service manager and then director of the company.

Mr Pattison has been at the West Street side of the business for 17 years and now intends to take over the Subaru and Isuzu business as well as dealing with all makes of used cars from its existing site.

A workshop adjoining the High Street car park will be converted to a fully equipped unit to support the business, offering MOT and servicing for all makes of cars.

"We will be carrying out development work over the next few months under the new name, which has yet to be decided," said Mr Pattison.

Mr Hankers, who still has to decide on his retirement plans for the third time after saying he had already "retired" twice from the business, reflected on the changes in the motor trade since he first started his working life working in it as a Londoner.

"The main difference has been in the service side; cars needed more and regular servicing, now everything is electronic and doesn't need as much attention," he said.