G20 Summit forces luxury car dealerships to ratchet up security

Luxury car dealerships have stepped up security at their premises in preparation for any fall out from protest demonstrations during the G20 Summit.

The Metropolitan Police have rolled out a massive security operation of unprecedented scale and complexity for the summit, pareparing for mass demonstrations around central London.

Officers have been warned that a hardcore of anarchists and anti-globalisation protesters are bent upon violence.

In the past, dealerships have suffered in for example, Reclaim the Streets events, when anti-capitalist groups have trashed premises.

Luxury car dealer HR Owen, which has Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Maserati dealerships, said it is taking precautions during the summit.

“We have taken a number of precautions last weekend and will do the same in the coming week,” said HR Owen chief executive Nick Lancaster.

Extra precautions include, in some cases, removing cars from premises and boarding up premises, he said.

But he added that police security in central London was so great the dealerships felt “absolutely protected”.