Big Motoring World is going for it. Big style. What started out as a tiny 20-car pitch in the mid-1980s has grown and grown and grown until it hit almost £300m last year. Recent moves include launching the 21-acre, 1,000-car supermarket at Blue Bell Hill, Kent, and the 800-car Enfield-based supermarket.
Now BMW (can we call it that? Perhaps not…) Big Motoring World has bought the Peterborough-based used car specialist SW Car Supermarket, bringing with it two new Peterborough dealerships.
It is the start of a nationwide growth plan and rumours abound that the company is eagerly looking for sites in some of the UK’s largest towns and cities, including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Leeds.
What’s the key to all this? Might we suggest that BMW’s (sorry) Big Motoring World’s CEO, Peter Waddell, is the driving force? He’s also the guru behind Carzam and he seems to be as driven and ambitious for this bricks and mortar retail group as for the online operation.
He’s clear that their cars are priced to sell and that the business model is robust and proven.
There is talk of Mr Waddell stepping back a little from Big Motoring Group, with SW Car Supermarket founder Anton Khan taking the reins.