Sir Arnold Clark dies

Sir Arnold Clark, founder of Arnold Clark Automobiles, has died aged 89. He had been ill for some time.

Born in Glasgow and knighted in 2004, Sir Arnold opened his first showroom in 1954 in his home town after serving in the Royal Air Force as a motor mechanics instructor.

The following decades saw his company grow to become Scotland’s largest auto retailer and, by the 2000s, achieve ‘national’ status with businesses stretching from Inverness to the West Midlands. The company celebrated its 60th year in business in 2015.

Arnold Clark Automobiles is widely acknowledged to be Europe’s largest independent, family-run auto retailer. The group now represents more than 20 OEM brands through 200 retailers across the UK.

Sir Arnold was recently confirmed as Britain’s first billionaire auto retailer in the 2016 Sunday Times Rich List. He was a classic car enthusiast and a keen yachtsman. He was also known for his community work which included helping to regenerate areas of Greater Glasgow.