MOTORBIKE dealership Bill Smith Motors is bucking the recession trend with the launch of its new Honda showroom.

The family-run business, based in Boughton, which began in 1959, has opened Smiths Honda in Whitchurch Road, Christleton.

Mark Smith, who runs the business with sister Karen Smith, said: “We’ve wanted to expand for years now and although times are tough for many businesses in the area, we are still going strong and have just opened the new Honda showroom.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by a record number of job applicants which is a sure sign of how job losses and redundancies have hit the area recently.”

Karen, who has been in the business since the late 1980s, explained the importance of being one of few family firms still thriving in the area.

She said: “Our customers keep coming to us because when you buy a motorbike you need not just good customer care but excellent care and servicing.

“With safety paramount, customers want the reliability of dealing with a business that’s been going for over 50 years and won’t be gone six months after they’ve bought their bike.”

The new Honda showroom also hosts an All American Car Wash, a large car parts and servicing business and further potential for other local businesses to rent commercial space from them.