Automotive
2016: No.35 - £120m
2015: No.31= - £120m
Terry Lister co-founded the Listers car dealership in Coventry with business partner Keith Bradshaw in 1979. Thirty-six years later it is England’s largest independent dealer group.
The Stratford-upon-Avon-based car company makes good profits. In 2014-15 operating profits were marginally down at £14.14 million, but turnover to more than £958 million from £860 million the previous year. The Lister family stake is worth around £100 million.
The motor group saw increased trading, boosted by its expanding portfolio of dealerships across the Midlands, East Anglia and the north of England.
The biggest contribution to the increase in sales volumes comes from the group’s Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen divisions, although the Volkswagen emissions scandal may put a dent in sales volumes of the VW marque. The company invested almost £1 million to give Listers Volkswagen Coventry in Quinton Road a major facelift. The group’s dealerships pick up awards on a regular basis. In 2014 Toyota Nuneaton received the Dealer of the Year accolade from Lex Autolease, while Listers Land Rover is another Dealer of the Year winner.
Terry Lister, aged 73, is 50 per cent owner of the Listers. The group is proudly independent, with more than 50 outlets across the country, Listers employs 1,700 people. Terry Lister and Keith Bradshaw began in business with a single dealership and body shop in Coventry.
Listers runs an extensive portfolio of franchises, including BMW, Land Rover, Jaguar, SEAT, Audi, Honda, Toyota, Lexus, Mercedes and Volkswagen. The company also has a franchise for Volkswagen commercials.
