Off Lease Only, a used vehicle-only dealership group with operations in Florida and Texas, filed Thursday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
In a news release, the company said “significant challenges and competitive pressures resulting from unprecedented changes” to the automotive retail landscape during the last few years necessitated a wind-down of its operations.
Before the filing, Off Lease Only listed five dealership locations in Florida and one sister dealership, CarSquad, in Katy, Texas. The company terminated all 545 employees “immediately prior” to Thursday, according to a court filing. The websites of Off Lease Only and CarSquad displayed “closed to the public” notices Thursday.
“The industry has been impacted by inventory scarcity, and vehicle price inflation stemming from supply chain disruptions and multi-year declines in new vehicle production,” the company said in the news release. “Elevated pricing and rising interest rates have further deteriorated conditions in the automotive retail market, weakening consumer demand and affordability.”
The case was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
Colo Real Estate Holdings — a Delaware LLC of which Off Lease Only is a parent — also filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11, according to filings. So did Off Lease Only’s parent company, Off Lease Only Parent.
All three entities filed a motion requesting that the Chapter 11 cases be consolidated.
