Arnold Clark
Sir Arnold Clark is one of the wealthiest businessmen in Scotland, ranked 10th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2005 for Scotland.
Biography
Born in Glasgow,in 1927,Clark joined the Royal Air Force aged 17. Rising through the ranks as he was educated, Clark became a Corporal and a Motor Mechanics Instructor.[1]
After leaving the RAF in the early 1950s, he got a job in a bar and saved up his money until Clark was able to purchase a Morris Ten-Four for £70, and after restoring it sold it for a profit.
Arnold Clark Automobiles
Clark started buying and selling other cars, and opened his first showroom in 1954 in Glasgow's Park Road.[2] After gaining his first retail franchise for Morris in 1959, expansion continued with the purchase of existing sites and rivals in and around the Glasgow area.
Arnold Clark Automobiles is now Scotland's largest car dealership, with over 145 new and used car dealerships spread throughout Great Britain. The company sells over 200,000 cars per year, employs 7,500 people, and has an annual turnover of over £2.2 billion,[3] involved in:
- Servicing & Repairs
- Parts & Accessories
- Accident Repairs
- Car & Van Rental
- Car, Home & Travel Insurance
Arnold Clark currently has an impressive portfolio of 20 new car franchises and the company is set to continue its strategy of acquisition, expansion and investment in the community and economy via job creation and training.
- Vauxhall
- Ford
- Toyota
- Volkswagen
- Seat
- Nissan
- Citroën
- Fiat
- Renualt
- Honda
- Hyundai
- Volvo
- Mazda
- Kia
- BMW (Harry Fairbairn)
- Mini (Harry Fairbairn)
In 2003 Clark was knighted for services to the motor industry and for his community work in Scotland.[4]
GTG
The new £10 million state of the art custom built conference centre, GTG Training, is officially opened on the regenerated Clydeside area of Glasgow. The 61,000 sq ft (5,700 m2) centre is split into two dedicated sections; the fully operational transport division caters for every aspect in automotive training whilst the IT and business skills division provides a broad range of business skill training courses and a superb conference area.
Drum - the world famous racing yacht
Aside from his motor interests, Clark can often be found yachting on his yacht, Drum. Drum, was originally owned by Simon Le Bon of the band Duran Duran and finished third (line honours) in the 1985/6 Whitbread Round The World Race (now the Volvo Ocean Race), a not inconsiderable feat considering her keel loss and capsize in the 1985 Fastnet Race just weeks before the Whitbread start.
Drum now plies the River Clyde during the summer months on a busy corporate entertainment schedule. Additionally, Drum is often used for charity work and to date, has raised in excess of £1million. Clark has loaned the yacht to numerous organisations and regularly offers exclusive sailing packages as auction and raffle prizes. In the spring of 2007 a £250,000 refit was completed on Drum.
References
- ^ "About Us". Arnold Clark Finance. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
- ^ "About Us". ArnoldClark.com. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
- ^ "Arnold Clark rated top dealer in Sunday Times private company survey". Motor Trader. 2010-06-21. Retrieved 2010-06-24.
- ^ "Car tycoon's pride at honour". BBC News UK. Retrieved 2010-09-18.