Corner Coventry, the city’s main Ford dealership, will be advertised in the Financial Times tomorrow after being placed in the hands of the receiver.

The dealership, which employs around 350 people on three sites, was founded in the early 1970s but was subject of a management buyout 11 years ago.

Receivers Grant Thornton have placed the advert and are ready to listen to offers for part or whole of the business which has its headquarters on the London Road, Whitley, Coventry.

Bernie McAlister, senior manager of Grant Thornton, is based at the site and is confident the business will find a taker.

"Our role is to realise the value of the company and discharge the creditors in accordance with the current legislation. The business has been undercapitalised which means that there has not been a great injection by shareholders, and there has been financial pressure.

"We are hoping for a positive response from the advert in the Financial Times and we have to see what happens from there. If we got offers for two or three parts of the business that were worth more than what we could achieve for it as a whole, then that would be the way we would have to go.

"At the moment the business is running as normal. All the existing staff are being retained but we have to keep everything under review at the moment.

"The move should not affect customers. If you buy a car on finance through a dealership, they put it out to a finance company so all arrangements will continue as they are at present."

Corner Coventry sells around 9,000 new and used cars each year but has reported losses over the last two financial years.