New car sales in NI slump by 18%

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The company which runs Northern Ireland's largest car dealership has announced a £14m slump in pre-tax profits.

Lookers, which operates in NI as Charles Hurst, said profits had fallen from £24.5m in 2007.

It said the UK market had fallen by more than 11%, while car sales in NI, where it is the market leader, were down 18%.

The company said 2009 was proving to be challenging for the new car market.