When Kamrul Hasan Sumon handed his car to Targa Florio Cars in August 2025, he had every reason to trust them. The Chichester dealership was a multiple award winner, consistently rated five stars on Google and AutoTrader, and had been trading for over fifteen years selling Ferraris, Porsches and Lamborghinis from a smart rural showroom in West Sussex. The arrangement was straightforward: sale or return. Targa Florio would sell the car. Sumon would receive £32,000.
He received nothing. In December 2025, a DVLA letter arrived informing him that the registered keeper of his vehicle had been changed. The car had been sold. The dealer had gone dark.
By January 2026, it was clear this was not an isolated case.
The disappearance
Targa Florio Cars vanished without warning in early January. The website went offline. The phone lines went dead. Google listed the business as permanently closed. When Car Dealer Magazine visited the company's premises at Walnut Farm Science Park, the forecourt was empty, the gates were shut, and the landlord had already begun advertising the site to let. Inside, computers were still on desks and the kitchen appeared fully stocked — as though everyone had simply walked out.
Sole director William Kirkham stopped answering calls, emails and messages. His mobile number became unreachable. The company's AutoTrader listing was removed.
Multiple customers came forward publicly. On TrustPilot, one customer posted:
"I left a car in the care of Targa Florio Cars and William (Kirkham) who sold the car and ghosted me completely."
Another wrote that they had not received a single response since being told in November that their car had sold — not to six emails, not to multiple WhatsApp messages, not to calls.
Bradford Law told Car Dealer that Targa Florio had "sold my car and kept the ££." He and Sumon were later interviewed by the BBC, expecting £28,000 and £32,000 respectively. A third customer, Frank and Millie Dowsett, were waiting on £19,000 for a classic Morgan and did not even know what had happened to it.
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Police and Trading Standards move in
Sussex Police confirmed they were investigating. In a statement to Car Dealer, they said:
"We are aware of a number of reports involving payment issues over vehicle sales relating to a company in Chichester."
West Sussex Trading Standards also began receiving complaints and opened their own inquiry. The key legal question is whether the conduct crosses from civil insolvency into criminal territory. When a dealer sells a car on sale or return and keeps the proceeds, that may constitute fraud or theft — not merely a commercial dispute. If criminal intent can be demonstrated, the matter becomes a police case rather than a civil claim through the insolvency courts.
Kirkham eventually told the BBC he was entering liquidation and filing for bankruptcy. His solicitor attributed the closure to "very difficult trading conditions," citing black book realignment, rising business rates, national insurance increases and other operating costs. According to Car Dealer Magazine, at least three of the named customers received settlements from Kirkham. Others have had no contact at all.
The numbers from Companies House
Liquidators Thomas Charles Russell and Sandra Lillian Mundy of James Cowper Kreston were formally appointed on 9 March 2026. The statement of affairs filed at Companies House reveals the scale of the problem.
Targa Florio Cars Limited owes £494,405.89 to 37 unsecured creditors. The breakdown, as reported by Car Dealer Magazine, includes £375,886.50 outstanding to six finance companies, £41,206.81 to 26 trade and expense creditors, £21,062.92 owed to three employees, and £16,085.16 owed to two banks. The largest single creditor is NextGear Capital UK at £125,818.59. HMRC is owed £42,000 in unpaid VAT and PAYE.
Total assets: £30,000. Net deficiency: £486,318.81.
Notably, the statement of affairs formally records that Targa Florio does not owe money to any customers. Whether that view survives legal scrutiny remains to be seen.
An accountancy expert who analysed three years of filed accounts for Car Dealer said the business had appeared strong on paper while being chronically short of cash, with more than £2.5 million of value sitting in car stock in 2022 and 2023 while the bank balance was under £10,000 in both years.
This has happened before
Targa Florio is the second luxury dealer to collapse this way within six months. GVE London, a supercar dealer with a significant social media following, entered administration in September 2025 leaving customers in similar circumstances. GaukMotorBuzz covered that collapse in detail — the pattern of a dealer operating on consigned stock, running tight on cash, and then vanishing with other people's cars is not new, and the legal protections for owners in those situations remain dangerously weak.
Sale or return sounds like a sensible arrangement. You keep ownership of the car. The dealer finds the buyer. In practice, the moment you hand over the keys, your position depends entirely on the dealer's honesty and solvency. There is no government compensation scheme. There is no insurance product that covers the scenario. If the dealer sells the car and folds before paying you, you join the queue of unsecured creditors and hope for the best.
In Targa Florio's case, with £30,000 in assets against nearly £500,000 in liabilities, the queue leads nowhere useful.
Sources:
- Car Dealer Magazine — Targa Florio collapsed with £500,000 debts
- Car Dealer Magazine — Police investigating sudden collapse of Targa Florio Cars
- Car Dealer Magazine — Supercar dealer Targa Florio Cars closes suddenly
- Car Dealer Magazine — Targa Florio to enter liquidation
- Car Dealer Magazine — Failed Targa Florio officially appoints liquidators
- Companies House — Targa Florio Cars Limited
