Expansion
In 1994, the company opened its first site in England, in Liverpool.[10] In 1996, Clark agreed deal for site and assets of Glasgow-based H Prosser and Sons Ltd, unaware that the company was imminently to be put into receivership.[11] By May 2002, Arnold Clark had 97 dealerships and with annual sales expected to reach £1billion, with a claim to be Scotland's largest private company[12] although Grampian Country Foods recorded larger sales for the four years following this.[13]
In December 2003, Arnold Clark acquired the training company GTG.[14] By the end of that year, the company employed 6,000 people and operated more than 120 showrooms across the United Kingdom.[15] In April 2005, the company paid a first dividend to the family trust family that it is co owned by.[16]
In May 2006, the company acquired the BMW and MINI specialist Harry Fairbairn, which had dealerships in Giffnock and Irvine.[17] In August 2006, the company opened a car showroom in the regenerated Glasgow Harbour, Europe's largest.[18] By November 2007, it was approaching a £2billion turnover.[19] In June 2007, it overtook Grampian Country Foods to again become Scotland's biggest private company.[20]
With the announcement of the Vehicle scrappage scheme in August 2009, Arnold Clark expected to create 700 jobs.[21]
By September 2012, the company was expanding through the acquisition of other dealerships. Fleet sales still accounted for a relatively small proportion of the company's business.[22] The takeover of the Weir group in September 2012 also saw the company expand into the market of Mercedes-Benz.[23] Acquisitions also included a site near Aberdeen, and a dealership and bodyshop in Blackpool.[24]
