1954

Sir Arnold's success began over 50 years ago when, after leaving his position as a Motor Mechanics Instructor with the Royal Air Force, he found himself unable to secure a job. As a result he started his own business. He purchased a Morris Ten Four for £70 and after many careful hours restoring the car to its original condition, sold it for a profit. From this first venture, Sir Arnold began to buy and sell cars, resulting in the opening of the first Arnold Clark showroom in 1954 in Glasgow's Park Road

Arnold Clark Automobiles expands with the acquisition of West End Motors

Arnold purchases three more garages in Bothwell Street (Glasgow), Paisley and Bearsden.

The Finance arm of the company is launched, initially lending money to his best customers to finance the purchase of their vehicle. 

Arnold Clark Automobiles extends into the Rental market with the launch of the short term car and van rental facility. This area of the business now has a fleet of over 5500 vehicles throughout the UK

1966

Arnold Clark (Finance) obtains its first Contract Hire contract, providing the firm Arnott Young with 30 vehicles.

1968

The Arnold Clark Group takes over Grant, Melrose and Tenant - a well-established garage group established in 1908 - The company acquires an Accident Repair Centre in Vinicombe Street, Glasgow, in the process.

The Arnold Clark group adds a multi-site complex in Mount Vernon to the ever-growing portfolio of dealerships, which introduced the Jaguar, Rover, Triumph, Austin, Land Rover and MG franchises.

1978

The Group begins underwriting Motability Finance at its Austin Rover dealership.

1979

The Group gains its first foreign franchise - Renault - and, within a year, becomes the largest Renault dealer in Scotland.

The Group acquires another well-established motor group: Macharg, Rennie and Lindsay (now known as Machargs). Throughout the 80's, Arnold acquires another 13 dealerships, culminating in the purchase of the Ron Hutcheson Motors Group in the North East of Scotland, 1989. The Group establishes itself as Scotland's largest dealer group.

During the 80's, The Contract Hire division grew dramatically, specialising in Local Authority Government and large plc contracts.

Arnold Clark develops a super-site at Pheonix Park, Linwood. It all started with Vauxhall and Citroen, and now boasts 6 franchises on-site: Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Citroen, Vauxhall and Chevrolet.

1992

Royscot Motor Finance is set up, in a joint venture between Arnold Clark Automobiles and the Royscot Trust.

1993

Arnold Clark Insurance Services is formed. ACIS is an independent Insurance broker with a panel of over 20 insurers covering the insurance market for motoring, household and travel.

1994

Arnold ventures South of the border with the launch of a ‘car supermarket' in Liverpool, marking his first retail operation in England.

1995

Another year, another addition to the Arnold Clark group. Or 10 to be precise. This year also sees the centralisation of all Group Marketing activity in-house.

With outlets as far north as Inverness to Birmingham in the south, Arnold Clark Automobiles has now emerged as a national car dealer. With the total number of dealerships in England now standing at 10, 2002 was the busiest year to date in terms of acquiring new dealerships. Arnold Clark also receives a Lifetime Achievement Award in the National Business Awards.

2003

Arnold Clark's expansion activities are now focused south of the border in the year that the company records the highest profits to date.
Accolades awarded with in 2003 include: Insider Elite of the Year and Glasgow Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award.

2004

After receiving a Knighthood in recognition of his services to the Motor Industry and his contribution to the Scottish community, Arnold Clark becomes Sir Arnold Clark. He also receives the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from Master Entrepreneur.

2005

Sir Arnold Clark can now add ‘Doctor' to his ever-growing number of titles as he receives an honourary doctorate from the University of Glasgow. The Arnold Clark Group is also noted by the Sunday Times as one of the UK's fastest growing companies.

2006

The Arnold Clark Group take over Harry Fairbairn - Scotland's leading BMW and MINI dealer group. Two record breaking dealerships also open: the Ultimate BMW Aftersales Facility in Giffnock, and Machargs - Europe's largest car showroom - on Glasgow's Clydeside.

This year has also seen the steady development of a beneficial partnership between the company and various headline charities, such as, The Princes Trust who aim to support 4,000 young people in 2006. Together they hope to give young people a kick start into work and community projects.

Arnold Clark currently has an impressive portfolio of 20 new car franchises and the company is set to continue its strategy of acquisition, expansion and investment in the community and economy via job creation and training.