Introducing the Speakers
Each speaker has kindly offered to give up their time to talk candidly about their journey, experiences and lessons learned on their route to colossal success. Here you will find a short summary of their business career to date, a picture and (where available) an audio recording of a short interview with the chairman of the MLE; Simon Bozeat.
NOTE! If you choose to listen to the interviews you may be directed to download the audio file of the interview to your computer. Please feel free to do so. All our files are virus checked regularly.
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Next event speakers (Fosse Executive Club)
29th May 2012 - Breakfast workshop on the subject of recruitment
Speaker number 1 - James Taylor of Macildowie
Event details - http://perfectrecruitment.eventbrite.com/
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Next Speakers (MLE) - Date TBA 2012
www.midlandseconomicoutlook.eventbrite.com
Alastair Cunningham - Bank of England
Ian Stannard - Senior Economist - Morgan Stanley
Bob Woods - Executive Chairman - Mattioli Woods
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Previous Speakers
Brian Stein - Chief Executive of Samworth Brothers
Richard Brucciani - Executive Chairman Pal International
Mike Potts - UK CEO - Lavendon Access Services
Gerard Nieuwenhuys - Group MD - Sytner
Andrew Bridgen - MP North West Leicestershire
Tony Brealey - MD - Reabrook
Stephen Gould - MD - Everards
Chris Corbin - MD - Ashfield in2 Focus
Andy Gilbert - MD - Go MAD Solution Focused Thinking
Bob Woods - Executive Chairman - Mattioli Woods
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Brian Stein : Chief Executive - Samworth Brothers Ltd
Listen to a interview with Brian Stein in conversation with Simon Bozeat
When Brian Stein, the Chairman Chief Executive of Samworth Brothers, stood up at the August 2011 MLE event to invite people to Melton Mowbray on 29th November 2011 he commented; “Very few people know we exist, especially our competitors, and by the time they have realised who we are we’ve pinched some of their business”.
Samworth Brothers is the largest employer in Leicestershire; on course to become a £1 billion, debt free business and now the largest supplier of chilled foods in the country supplying high street giants including Tescos and Waitrose along with masses of retail outlets through their branded and retailer’s own-brand products.
Ginsters was the original business back in 1977 turning over £1m, since then this wholly owned family business has doubled in size every 5 years and grown to include 8 additional bakeries.
At Samworth they treasure the family principles of; attention to detail, quality, premium products and premium pricing, looking after suppliers and their staff and promotion from within (they have never acquired a business). Respecting people and small things make the difference. For example, Samworth employees work in a Bakery not a factory, they have lunch in a restaurant not a canteen and there is no HR department. Who has ever heard of a Human Resource; at Samworth they employ people!
You will hear why Samworth have less than a dozen people in their group centre, how they maintain short term absence of <1% in a tough 24/7 working environment, how they develop a culture of responsibility, ultra-fast decision making and enormous pride in this colossal business.
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Richard Brucciani : Executive Chairman - Pal International
The Brucciani name is well known across Leicester and the region both for the coffee shop business which began in the 1930s and then the family bakery which flourishes to this day.
In the 1960s Richard’s Father had the eye to import paper hats from the US for those involved in the new fast food market and so Pal International was born. Being in the right place at the right time served the family well; as the fast food revolution grew so did the demand for headwear in the food service industry. Pal soon ceased to rely on imported product and constructed a manufacturing facility firstly in Oadby before outgrowing the space available and moving to Lutterworth.
Aquisitions were made on the way and now they manufacture disinfectant and specialist wet-wpes and hygiene workwear the food manufacturing, pharmaceutical and healthcare markets across the world.
Intriguingly Richard and his colleagues discovered that their name is a real asset. They investigated how the name 'Pal' would be accepted in foreign markets and discovered it was universally acceptable and pronounceable in multiple languages!
Richard will share with you how the continued success of Pal International relies on their willingness to invest, to export into different markets and to continually innovate as a small niche player in a large market sector.
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Mike Potts : UK CEO - Lavendon Access Services
Lavendon is a business which MLE Chair Simon Bozeat has grown to know well having been engaged in 2010 as an Executive Coach to a selection of senior Directors.
Lavendon’s mission is for their customers to consistently ‘work safely at height’. Next time you are at a televised outdoor sporting event and notice a TV camera and operator 150ft in the air chances are that it is a Lavendon vehicle that put them there!
Recently the long serving Group Chief Executive Kevin Appleton relinquished his position, but shortly before departing recruited Mike Potts to take the helm of the UK division of this hugely successful plc. The UK part of the business is the leader in the UK Powered Access market boasting 11,500 machines rented from 43 depots across the country.
Mike is an engineer by education having spent his early years in Metal Box, Shell and Courtaulds. Prior to joining Lavendon Mike had been CEO of Vendia, a European supplier of food and beverage vending services, and Continental Europe MD of Amtico, a Midlands based flooring company, both Amtico and Vendia being backed by private equity.
Continuous improvement and Lavendon coexist; they have recently embarked on a series of wide-ranging cross-company change projects. These examine all aspects of the business in order to continually improve value to the customer, reduce waste and standardise operations. Concurrently Lavendon continually invest hugely in their people. On 3rd October Mike will reveal their strategy for getting to and staying at the top (literally!).
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Gerard Nieuwenhuys - Group Managing Director - Sytner Ltd
Listen to a short interview between Simon Bozeat & Gerard Nieuwenhuys
Gerard is the son of a Dutch immigrant and a self-confessed ‘petrol head’. He has always enjoyed a passion for cars which led him to manage the sales team at the first ever Sytner dealership in Nottingham founded in 1968. Now the £2billion Sytner Group boasts over 100 dealerships across the UK representing all the leading prestigious marques.
The one phrase that symbolises everything Sytner stands for are delivering a ‘Famous with Customers experience’. Founder Frank Sytner and the current owner Roger Penske the CEO of the global Fortune 500 Penske Automotive Group were both successful racing drivers and it is obvious how the winning mentality shines throughout the business.
Since Penske acquired the business and Gerard took the helm in 2002 the business has grown by 400%. Success comes in many forms and Sytner are proud to be the only business placed in the Sunday Times top 10 of the best big companies in the UK to work for in each of the last 4 years. The Sytner story is a story of success.
Join us for a memorable evening on the 3rd August and hear it from the top at their magnificent Bentley dealership in Leicester.
Click here for a concise history of Sytner
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Andrew Bridgen - MP North West Leicestershire
Andrew Bridgen the Member of Parliament for North West Leicestershire joined us on Thursday 14th April at the outstanding PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) offices in Castle Donington.
He shared his experiences of 1 year in post and previously as the Managing Director of the Measham based family business, AB Produce Ltd. Andrew knows more than most about leadership and how to succeed especially in tough economic times. Naturally he shares a passion for business and speaks regularly to the house about business growth.
LISTEN TO A CANDID INTERVIEW WITH ANDREW HERE
(This 15 minute interview was recorded just before the budget statement by George Osborne on Wednesday morning - 23rd March 2011 : Please excuse the abrupt ending - a technical glitch -
This is the third time we have enjoyed Andrew's company and the evening of 14th April was the perfect opportunity for the participants to listen to and share their views with their MP. Those that know Andrew will agree that he is very much his own man, never shirks a good debate, says it as it is and enjoys sharing amusing anecdotes about life in politics.
A sumptuous buffet was again supplied by JOLTS corporate catering.
These are just a few comments from the evening:
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“... I was pleasantly surprised. The speaker was excellent & very well organised”
Shirley McGuire – Power Pac Ltd
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“... very good speaker”
Tony Brealey – MD Reabrook
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“...would have preferred the session with Andrew to have continued longer”
Lynne Warwick – HR Business Partner East Midlands Airport
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“... a good introduction to the MLE for me”
Mark Slaviero – Business Development Mattioli Woods
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“... happy to hear understanding of ‘no win no fee’ lawyer problems”
Fiona Ellis-Winkfield – MD Gordon Ellis
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“... a very worthwhile experience”
Eric Allen – MD Kodiak Industrial
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“... I liked the presentation and also the interaction between the participants”
Frank Goo – Partner Ashwood Law
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Tony Brealey : Joint Managing Director - Reabrook Ltd
24th February 2011 @ Reabrook (Next to Conkers - National Forest)
Listen to an interview with Tony interviewed by Simon Bozeat
Tony Brealey joined the firm in the 70s and has risen through the ranks to become part of a trio who recently orchestrated an MBO in 2006. Now Tony is the joint Managing Director planning to double the size of the business in the next 5 years whilst returning the 'family feel' after a period where the business was owned by a major plc.
Many people will not have heard of Reabrook Ltd, a fantastically successful £25m business based in Moira (next to Conkers in the National Forest). However there is a high probability that on the day you read this you will have used one of their products. Reabrook began life in the 70s as a manufacturer of industrial chemicals. It has diversified massively and now produces own brand and private label body sprays, self tan and hair care products.
So the next time you purchase your personal care products from the high street who knows you could be consuming Swadlincote’s finest!
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Stephen Gould - Managing Director - Everards Brewery
Guest Speaker : 20th January 2010 @ REGUS offices - Castle Donington
Listen to a 12 minute interview between Stephen Gould and Simon Bozeat chair of the MLE.
Stephen Gould, 42, joined the Board of Everards Brewery Ltd as Trade Director in March 2003 and was appointed Managing Director in March 2005 having worked in the pub and leisure industry for 20 years gaining valuable previous experience with Bass Plc and Punch Taverns Plc. He is very active in the industry as a director of the British Beer and Pub association and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Everards has remained in the family for 160 years. Richard Everard is part of the 5th generation of the family and the present custodian of the business. The brewery is well known for its beers: Tigers Best, Original, Beacon and Sunchaser. What may not be so familiar to many is the extensive property portfolio which includes commercial - 99% owned freehold properties (172 pubs), other commercial and residential. Well know names including KFC and Blockbuster situate their operations on Everards premises. Ownership and development of freehold property is central to their long term strategy of capital growth.
During Stephen’s talk to the members, sponsors and visitors to the MLE he will cover how the business has managed during the recession and through recent key changes in legislation including the smoking ban. He will also relay a practical case study
where attention to values and behaviours has made a measurable difference in the business. Partnership are crucial and the team at Everards have worked hard to build trust and partnerships with smaller brewers who previously would have seen the bigger
player as a competitive threat.
Finally to remain at the leading edge of the industry Stephen sees continuous innovation essential in a mature business. For example as part of their strategy to engage with, listen to and attract new types of customer they adopted an innovative approach to sign up 1200 members of the public on line to mystery shop their pubs!
The 20th January like all other MLE events will be full of ideas, stories and practical (sometimes unconventional) ways to lead and build any organisation.
It will be a memorable night – Oh and did we mention that Stephen will be giving away FREE BEER!
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Chris Corbin
Guest Speaker : 7th October 2010 @ Ashfield in2 Focus
The man who gives lectures to his directors on the importance of having fun at work!
One of the priviledges of running business events is the opportunity to interview outstanding leaders. Over the last 20 plus years I have had the good fortune to visit hundreds of private and public sector organisations and divisions/departments in my role of trainer and business coach. I have always been interested in the culture within firms and what has to happen to shift from a command and control, top down, parental, suppressive, autocratic and fear ridden culture to one where people are encouraged to think for themselves, make local decisions, continually challenge themselves without having to be told, invest in learning and personal development and where managers act as coaches to drive fear out of the workplace and where people genuinely have fun!
When you walk through the impressive double doors into the head office of Ashfield in2 Focus in Ashby-de-la-Zouch something immediately strikes you – a buzz... smiles... laughs... a sense of urgency and a universal welcome from anyone and everyone. There are even people eating ice cream with sprinkles in a delightful café-esque area just off the main office corridor!
Have they been drugged? was it a show for a visitor? No just the way they do things at Ashfield in2 Focus where the results from employee satisfaction surveys are off the charts and profits continue to rise year-on-year. Is there a direct link between the two? When you listen to Chris you will be the judge.
Within seconds of meeting Chris you are struck by his sense of humour, a man who says it as it is and who bears all the hallmarks of a driven man. Success is no accident...
You have the opportunity to meet, listen to and learn from Chris on the evening of the 7th October 2010. This will be the first of our Super Thursday evenings in the Midlands Leadership Experience.
Here is Chris Corbin’s story...
He started his career as a medical sales representative with a flair for success. Born in 1955 and educated at Cardinal Allen Grammar School, Liverpool. After completing a business studies degree he joined the pharmaceutical industry as a medical representative.
By the age of 27 he was sales manager at May & Baker and moved on to have successful roles with Astra, Fisons and Parke Davis.
His career came crashing down after a management change and Chris found himself out of a job following redundancy. His first marriage had failed and he was in the midst of an acrimonious divorce, he had been forced by circumstances to a fairly low point in life. Yet it was whilst sat on the ‘third step’ of his mother’s house with just £20 in his pocket that life offered him the contract that began his rapid rise to success. In the course of a chance conversation with an ex colleague Chris spotted the opportunity to say ‘I can do that’, determined to win the contract he inspired confidence and won the deal.
In 1996, Chris founded his own company. With the support of his wife Samantha, they converted their spare bedroom in Shepshed, Leicestershire into the office, hired 60 cars on credit and started recruiting; and thus Ashfield Healthcare, a company involved in contract sales outsourcing was born. Six months later they won a contract with Sankyo and moved into their first 1,000 square feet office in Market Street, Ashby de la Zouch.
Continued success brought attention from investors and Ashfield Healthcare was bought by United Drug in 2000. A year later, Chris was appointed as a main board Director of United Drug.
In 2002, Ashfield House, a multi-million pound training centre was opened just a few miles up the road from where it all began just 7 years earlier. In the same year, the father-of-six was awarded Business Personality of the Year by Leicestershire Business Awards and Ashfield Healthcare Business of the Year. Since then the company has continued to thrive and has established itself as the market leader in its field. Expansion into Ireland and the thriving US market have followed.
Chris is keen to support the local community and founded the Ashfield Worthy Causes Fund in 2004. The trust donates to schools, talented individuals and initiatives in and around Ashby de la Zouch and has already donated over £120,000 to local educational establishments.
In July last year, the tenth anniversary of Ashfield Healthcare, the business merged with In2Focus to become Ashfield In2Focus now employing over 1,500 people with a turnover of £83million. Chris is still at the helm and driving the business harder than ever.
Chris speaks honestly and advisedly, his talks are focussed on what they don’t teach you at business school, the pitfalls and how to find the determination to succeed in the face of overwhelming odds. The huge respect this inspiring, witty and passionate speaker invokes is simply amazing.
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Andy Gilbert - Managing Director – Go MAD (Make a Difference)
Guest Speaker @ 10th November 2010
Listen to an interview between Andy Gilbert and Simon Bozeat chair of the MLE
Towards the end of 2009 I was invited to CIPD workshop to see a chap called Andy Gilbert from a company called Go MAD Thinking, I read a little about him and was intrigued and not a little sceptical about listening to a man who had a vision for the grand ambitions he wanted to achieve by 2063!
Within seconds of settling down with 80 other HR/Training and business and public sector leaders and professionals it became obvious that Andy is the real deal who has built a tremendous business that is doing what it says on the tin and ‘Making a Difference’. As a very experienced training, coaching and business facilitator practitioner myself I could immediately see that Andy and the Go MAD Thinking team have successfully traversed the bridge from training courses to training and business results. This for many people is the Holy Grail in our profession.
He has now linked this very successful approach with a Masters Degree, a guaranteed 200% RoI and outcomes which are payable on results. Now that is something very unique!
Andy is also committed to making every appearance value packed and when you attend his workshop you will be enthralled by the results Go MAD delivers and the volume of practical advice and proven business performance tools and techniques they offer.
This is Andy's story...
Andy left school at 18 to start his career in retail banking and was progressing well, gaining his banking qualifications, until he discovered he hated lending money. So he left to move into the Civil Service. Within a month of joining he attended a two weeks management training programme. Amazed at how much he learned within such a short period of time, Andy realised at the age of 23 that this was really what he wanted to do - help people learn.
Within a couple of years he had secured his first training role, started his training qualifications and progressed to a training management position. Then, disillusioned with the lack of career opportunities available, Andy took advantage of a secondment opportunity to develop the Job and Career Change Scheme within British Coal Enterprise gaining great experience in large scale restructuring and organisational change. This lead to his first major research project into the psychological reaction to change by the survivors of restructuring (now commonly referred to as "Survivor Syndrome") and 11 international assignments to former communist countries in Eastern Europe as a Government advisor on mass layoff restructuring. After being kidnapped in Uzbekistan, Andy returned to the UK, working as a senior manager in what was now the largest outplacement company and gaining a distinction for his Masters Degree in Human Resource Development.
In 1997, Andy formed his first company - a training consultancy specialising in career management and managing change. He also developed a 90 word company "passion statement" which contained the words "making a difference". Intrigued by these words, Andy put together a team of 8 people and self funded a 14 month research project to discover the key success principles that people naturally apply when they make a difference. 4000 hours of research later, the Go MAD Framework emerged and, in 1999, Andy the wrote his best selling book, " Go MAD - The Art of Making A Difference".
Two years later, Andy was asked by a global insurance company to train 200 Go MAD coaches and launch a global "making a difference" campaign for 55,000 people. All was going well until one week before launch when the 9/11 tragedy put an end to the programme before it had effectively started and he lost over £1m of revenue. Undeterred, Andy wrote "Go MAD about Coaching" and continued developing people, realising in the process that the widest use of his Go MAD Framework was to equip teams and organisations with a shared "thinking system".
From 2004 onwards, Andy has focused on developing a range of online tools and implementing largescale business improvement programmes that equip people with the thinking skills which are applied in a solution focused way to make measurable business differences through Go MAD 90 day challenges. In 2007 he launched his "Thinking for Business Success" podcast series which reached number one in the iTunes business section, ahead of The Harvard Business School, for 11 consecutive weeks. He also demonstrated his thinking skills by winning £65,000 on a TV show and giving it all away to help 1000 people with £65 each.
As the author of 20 books and 200+ audio/video programmes, Andy's work has helped hundreds of thousands of people in over 40 countries achieve their goals and make a difference. In addition to his Go MAD Thinking consulting activities, he is the Chairman of three Midlands based organisations including two charity/not for profit organisations providing development for young people, and a software start-up business. In 2009, after being a runner-up finalist in 2008, Andy won Entrepreneur of the Year in the Leicestershire Business Awards and Go MAD Thinking won a National Training Award for a business improvement programme that delivered a 28.2% increase in profits for a large retail client.
Andy is a passionate and inspiring speaker who travels the world helping people achieve their goals. He walks the talk and has the talent of condensing massive, complex issues into highly practical personal and business improvement tools.
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Bob Woods - Chairman - Mattioli Woods (M/W)
Guest Speaker @ 16th December 2010
Click here to listen to a short interview between Simon Bozeat and Bob Woods
The first time you meet Bob you are struck by the warmth of his demeanor, modesty and his interest in you, a true gentleman in all senses of the word. When you have the time to listen to Bob and his story you will notice that it bears all the hallmarks of the true entrepreneur who knew that if he had control of his own destiny he would create something different and special that would become hugely successful. Like so many entrepreneurs who have turned their vision into reality Bob is a man of conviction. He began Mattioli Woods with his partner Ian Mattioli as a lifestyle business in the early 90s having risen through the ranks in the corporate world.
Starting with little more than basic office equipment in a shed Ian and Bob have built one of the fastest growing privately owned financial services businesses in the region offering specialist pensions and investment advice and products/services primarily to higher net worth individuals.
For the past 5 years they have steadily acquired businesses and floated on the AIM market. They are also set to rapidly grow in the next 3 to 4 years. A true success story!
This is Bob's story...
Bob Woods graduated from Reading University in 1975 and entered the pensions industry via a graduate trainee programme with Sun Alliance insurance group. Moving on to a ‘leading edge’ pension consultancy in 1979, Bob was promoted to Marketing Director in 1986. In 1990, Bob was involved in the development of one of the first self-invested personal pension plans to be launched in the UK, having been involved with the development of small self invested schemes with the same practitioner.
In 1991, Bob left to establish his own consultancy with business partner Ian Mattioli, which was designed as a troubleshooting consultancy, principally for owner-managers. Mattioli Woods has enjoyed strong growth throughout the last 19 years and listed on the AIM stock market in 2005. Over the last five years the business has more than doubled in size, and now employs circa 185 staff at its Leicester Head Office, providing consultancy, administration and investment services for some 4,000 small self-administered and self invested personal pension scheme clients throughout the UK.
The business has made six acquisitions to date, leading to funds under trusteeship from all schemes of circa £2bn.
Bob’s philosophy is that technical excellence, personal service and pro-activity are key in ensuring that clients’ retirement planning strategies are optimised.
The business has been developed on the back of a graduate recruitment initiative, with the first graduate being recruited in 1992. Over 60% of our current employees joined as graduates including the majority of the 20-strong consultancy team, middle-managers and investment management team.
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Sytner Group History
Sytner Group was founded in the 1960s by Frank Sytner and his brother Alan, owner of the famous Cavern Club. Established in Nottingham in 1968, Sytner became famous for selling BMWs as well as Specialist Used cars. Frank has always been renowned for his passion for cars, having won the British Touring Car Championship in 1988 driving a Prodrive BMW M3 and continuing a subsequent successful racing career. Following his racing success, Frank decided to devote his energies to developing the Sytner business.
Steady Growth
Expansion began slowly and steadily in 1993 with the acquisition of two midlands based BMW businesses and two years later diversification into other prestige marques began in earnest with the addition of Mercedes Benz, Ferrari and Audi. A year later Land Rover and Chrysler Jeep were added to the stable, with Porsche following shortly afterwards. By 1997, the prestige marques represented by Sytner were in double figures and the company decided to float on the stock market.
In 1998 a family-owned Jaguar and Land Rover business in Thames Ditton was purchased from Mr Guy Salmon. Mr Salmon had built a successful business based on providing outstanding customer service and today all Sytner Jaguar and Land Rover businesses bear his name.
The largest single acquisition in the Group’s history was made during August 1999 in the form of the Ixion Group. Overnight this almost doubled the number of dealerships in the Group and saw the addition of new brands; Saab, Volvo and Lexus.
From then on the Group continued to grow steadily, adding the Toyota brand to the Sytner portfolio. Sytner were conscious that the growth of the Group should be built on a culture of ‘Best Company’ and that the values and commitments of the business had to be robust when integrating new businesses. The Sytner Board firmly believed that if they recruited the best staff and provided the best training and working environment for them, they would in turn look after Sytner customers to the best of their ability. It made sound, simple business sense.
PAG acquisition
A landmark in Sytner’s history came in 2002, when Roger Penske, owner of the USA’s second largest car retail Group (Penske Automotive Group) approached Sytner with an interest in purchasing the Group. With complimentary business values and a shared motor racing background it provided an ideal opportunity for PAG to expand their operations in the UK and on 12 February 2002 an agreement was reached. With 129 dealerships in 19 States, PAG employ more than 11,000 people and support the Group’s ambitious growth plans. Being part of a global organisation provided Sytner Group with the opportunity to continually improve customer service, create some of the UK’s most outstanding dealership facilities and offer unrivalled choice by sharing best practice with their American counterparts.
Following the PAG acquisition, former Sytner Group Chief Executive Laurence Vaughan took up the position of Chairman and Gerard Nieuwenhuys became Managing Director. The majority of the senior Sytner management team, along with the Sytner Group mission statement remain unchanged. Today Frank Sytner is retained as an advisor to the board, whilst continuing his motorsport career racing Historic sports cars on famous circuits such as Goodwood and Silverstone.
With opportunities for further investment and the backing of PAG, Sytner grew from strength to strength and in 2004 two multi-dealership acquisitions were made - Aston Green Ltd and Glenvarigill Ltd. Aston Green more than doubled the number of Audi dealerships in the group with a cluster of locations including in the South. Glenvarigill enabled Sytner to expand North of the border into Scotland with additions to the specialist division including Bentley, Ferrari and Maserati.
New head office building
To keep pace with the growth of the company - now standing at nearly 100 dealerships and representing almost 20 brands - a new head office building was purchased which brought the majority of the group's central services under one roof, including a new training centre, customer contact centre and IT support - the balance of Sytner's head office moved into this new facility just off junction 21 of the M1 during 2006.
In the same year the William Jacks Group Plc, consisting of 15 franchises representing BMW, Honda, Jaguar, Land Rover, MINI, Rolls-Royce and Volvo was acquired by Sytner and expansion continued with Chrysler Jeep in Bristol acquired from the Dick Lovett group.
The Sytner Group continued to grow at an impressive rate, whilst demonstrating an excellent performance within the prestige and specialist market. In 2007, acquisition continued apace with the purchase of nine Ryland businesses; these included the DaimlerChrysler Dealerships in the North East together with the BMW and MINI Dealerships in the west Midlands and South West.
Later in 2007 Sytner added to the year’s acquisitions with the Nottingham and Leicester Audi Businesses, previously owned by the John Fox Group plus the exciting acquisition of the historical Maranello Egham, further adding to Sytner's Ferrari and Maserati portfolio.
Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For
In late 2008 Sytner once again brought VW under their banner and also introduced Seat through the acquisition of the Richard Alexander Group. The success of Sytner and its growth lies squarely with its people. There is a strong ‘One Team’ culture underpinned by a daily framework and supported through a variety of ways for staff to have a voice; through the bi-annual Viewpoint survey, Dealer Principals’ Forum and regular Managers’ Conferences. During its expansion, Sytner are proud to have twice been named in the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For list (ranking 4th in the 20 best Big Companies to Work For) along with winning Automotive Management’s ‘Employer of the Year’ award in 2008.
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