Belfast Audi Gets Bigger - and Better

VIP guests celebrate as prestige German manufacturer opens flagship store in city'sfamous Titanic Quarter

MILTON KEYNES, UNITED KINGDOM – November 17, 2010: Audi UK has been joined by over 350 VIP guests, including Irish footballer and Manchester United legend Denis Irwin and TV presenter Patrick Kielty, to celebrate the official opening of Belfast Audi – the new multi-million-pound flagship showroom operated by the Agnew Group.

Belfast Audi, situated in the city's famous Titanic Quarter, is the biggest stand-alone car dealership in the country. The Centre officially opened on Monday 15 November 2010 with a glittering party: guests were entertained by BRIT nominated group The Feeling, with special guests Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Northern Ireland’s Sinead Quinn (probably best-known for her appearance on BBC TV’s Fame Academy). The food was created by Brian McCann of Shu Restaurant, one of the province’s greatest emerging culinary talents.

Audi also took the opportunity to debut two of its new models in Northern Ireland: the A1 and the A7 Sportback. The A1 is the smallest Audi to date, boasting all of the usual Audi quality hallmarks and described as "a big idea condensed". The A7 Sportback is the luxury marque’s elegant new five-door coupe.

“The opening of Audi’s new flagship store in Northern Ireland is one of Belfast’s landmark events of 2010,” says Jeremy Hicks, director of Audi UK. “As well as being proud to throw open the doors of the new premises in spectacular style, we were also pleased to unveil both the A1 and A7 Sportback, the latest evidence that Belfast Audi will be the one-stop destination for the very latest Audi cars”.

“The new Centre has been specifically tailored to ensure Audi customers enjoy the best retail experience in the motor industry, from the reception, waiting area and coffee bar, to the new car displays and the state-of-the-art technical service area.”

The opening of Belfast Audi was an essential move for the company to safeguard the Centre’s excellent reputation in the face of a burgeoning Audi model range that has swelled from a total of 17 variants just a decade ago to a total of 38 in 2010. Today, Audi UK is a 100,000 sales a year brand and client service standards have become an absolute priority.

The Agnew Group was established in 1931and is one of Ireland's leading prestige and luxury car retailers. The new building covers 41,785 sq feet, almost four times the size of its original showroom located in Boucher Way. Belfast Audi (including Portadown Audi) plans to achieve significant targets in 2011: 2,200 new cars, in addition to 1,400 approved used cars.

The new Belfast Audi Centre was designed by a team from Blackstaff Architects (formerly Ferguson Wheeler Design) led by Jason Goldring, and built by the construction firm Patton's.