Car salesman
Clark left the RAF in the early 1950s, but was unable to find employment.[3][6] He used his demob money to purchase a 1933 Morris Ten-Four for £70, and after restoring it, sold it for a profit.[7] Clark started buying and selling cars, opening his first showroom in 1954 in Glasgow's Park Road. He secured his first retail franchise for Morris Motors in 1959, then during the early 1960s established showrooms in Bothwell Street and also in Paisley and Bearsden.[8]
He launched a finance company in 1963, meaning people no longer needed to involve their bank manager when purchasing vehicles from him.[9] In the 1960s, Clark also expanded into the rental vehicle market.[10] In 1968, took over Grant, Melrose and Tennant giving the company an accident repair centre.[10] By the late 1980s, Arnold Clark had branches across Central Scotland and one in England.[11]
By September 2002, Arnold Clark had 97 dealerships and with annual sales expected to reach £1 billion, it was considered Scotland's largest private company.[12] In May 2006, the company acquired the Harry Fairbairn BMW and Mini dealership.[13] The company opened a car showroom in the regenerated Glasgow Harbour, which at the time was Europe's largest.[2] The following year Clark's company was approaching a £2 billion turnover.[14]
At the age of 80, Clark was still a director of his company, receiving a salary of £1.3 million.[15] He remained as chairman and chief executive, thus being the company's highest paid director and was receiving almost £2 million a year by 2012.[16] In September 2014, the company’s turnover reached almost £3 billion.[17]
By 2014, his wealth was estimated at £675 million, ahead of Britain's other car dealers.[18] The Sunday Times Rich List 2016 estimated that the fortune amassed by Clark and his family to be more than £1 billion, making him Britain's first billionaire car dealer.[19] He appeared on The World's Billionaires list compiled by Forbes for the first time in March 2017.[20]
