Arnold Clark
Sir John Arnold Clark | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 November 1927 Townhead, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 10 April 2017 (aged 89) |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, car dealer |
| Known for | Founder of Arnold Clark Automobiles |
Sir John Arnold Clark (27 November 1927 – 10 April 2017) was a Scottish entrepreneur and billionaire. He inaugurated a car showroom in Glasgow in 1954, which grew into Arnold Clark Automobiles—a nationwide network of dealerships and Scotland's largest privately held firm.
Clark retained family control for more than six decades, holding roles as chairman and chief executive. In 2016, he earned the distinction of becoming the United Kingdom's first billionaire in the car dealership sector.
Early life
Born on 27 November 1927 in a tenement located in Townhead, Glasgow, John Arnold Clark was the son of a shipyard worker from Clydeside. He attended Dennistoun Primary School but left home at age fourteen without formal qualifications. During World War II, he moved to the Isle of Arran.
At seventeen, near the war's conclusion, he was drafted into the Royal Air Force (RAF), where he served as a Motor Mechanics Instructor and achieved the rank of Corporal. Clark credited his time in the RAF with fostering his discipline and leadership abilities.
Car salesman
After leaving the RAF in the early 1950s, Clark faced difficulties securing employment. Investing his demobilization funds, he purchased a 1933 Morris Ten-Four for £70, restored it, and sold it at a profit. This venture marked the beginning of his car trading activities. He launched his initial showroom on Park Road in Glasgow in 1954. By 1959, he had obtained his first retail franchise from Morris Motors, and during the early 1960s expanded to locations including Bothwell Street, Paisley, and Bearsden.
In 1963, Clark established a finance company to facilitate vehicle purchases without bank involvement. He also entered the vehicle rental market throughout the 1960s. The acquisition of Grant, Melrose and Tennant in 1968 added an accident repair centre to his portfolio. By the late 1980s, Arnold Clark operated multiple outlets across Central Scotland and had expanded into England.
By September 2002, Arnold Clark comprised 97 dealerships with annual sales approaching £1 billion, positioning it as Scotland’s largest private enterprise. In May 2006, it acquired the Harry Fairbairn BMW and Mini dealership and opened a showroom at Glasgow Harbour—the largest of its kind in Europe at that time. By 2007, turnover neared £2 billion.
At eighty years old, Clark continued as chairman and chief executive with a salary of £1.3 million; by 2012 this increased to nearly £2 million per year. In September 2014, Arnold Clark recorded a turnover milestone of £3 billion.
By 2014, his personal fortune was estimated at £675 million, outstripping other UK car dealers. The Sunday Times Rich List in 2016 valued his family’s wealth at over £1 billion, confirming him as Britain’s first billionaire car dealer. In March 2017, he appeared on Forbes’ World's Billionaires list for the first time.
Awards and honours
Clark was knighted as a Knight Bachelor in the 2004 New Year Honours for his contributions to both the motor industry and community initiatives in Scotland. The University of Glasgow conferred an honorary degree upon him in 2005. In 2015, he was honoured with Car Dealer Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Personal life
Clark was married twice and fathered ten children—six boys and four girls. From his first marriage, he had four sons; among them, Norman passed away in 1995 at the age of 33. His second wife, Philomena, bore him six children. Residing in the village of Killearn, Clark also served as a church elder. He passed away on 10 April 2017 at the age of 89.
Car collection
His collection of vintage automobiles was extensive, featuring vehicles such as a 1915 Ford Model T Town Car, a 1924 Ford Model T Coupé, a 1926 Citroën Cloverleaf, a 1928 Rolls-Royce Park Ward Single Tourer 20 hp, and a 1929 Austin Heavy 12.
Yacht
In 1988, Clark acquired the 78-foot Maxi yacht Drum from Simon Le Bon. Commanding a crew of 22, he led the Tobermory race that year until the yacht was involved in an accident with a Royal Navy submarine near the Mull of Kintyre. In 2005, Clark returned the yacht to Le Bon on loan, and it was often made available to various organizations for charitable fundraising events.