Specialist Cars - BMW & MINI History

History of Specialist Cars

Specialist Cars Limited began in the early 1970's as a subsidiary of the Stevenage VW Audi dealership with franchises for BMW, Honda and Alfa Romeo based on the Hertford Road in Stevenage. In 1980 BMW (AG) created a wholly owned subsidiary, BMW UK Ltd and insisted on solus franchises; thus Specialist Cars chose to drop the other franchises in favour of BMW only.

In 1990, David Fawcitt, then Dealer Principal, effected a management buyout from the parent company and in 1994 relocated to London Road, Stevenage. The company grew to become the largest single BMW site in Britain at that time - measured by new car registrations.

In 1999 a further management buyout saw Specialist Cars Limited transferred to the current owners, Clive Fletcher and Michael Donovan.

The new century from 2000 witnessed continued growth, starting with the acquisition of Ivor Holmes Limited, the BMW dealership in Luton. This quickly resulted in a relocation to Leagrave Road in Luton during 2003; one site for BMW and a separate site for MINI - which was one of the first standalone MINI operations in the Country.

Meanwhile the business has maintained ever increasing investments in Stevenage. In July 2001 the business developed a joint Used BMW and MINI showroom development at the London Road site and then five years later, in 2006, Specialist Cars Stevenage was relocated into a new site on Gunnels Wood Road of over 5 acres. This made it once again the largest independent BMW dealership in the Country, with split level showroom, multi-storey car park including storage facility and a state-of-the-art fitted workshop; the new dealership really was a ground-breaking development.

In 2008, Specialist Cars Limited purchased the former Stratstone BMW dealership in Cow Roast near Tring, Hertfordshire. Some 7 years later the Group maintained its record of sound investment and in April 2015 launched a wholly refurbished site with separate showrooms and for BMW and MINI, whilst introducing some of the very latest technological and customer friendly initiatives to the Industry.

The Specialist Cars family now operate across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and the surrounding counties and continue to invest in the area which is highlighted further with the opening on a brand new site on Dunstable Road in Luton in 2015.

Specialist Cars Group

BMW Centres

Specialist Cars Stevenage
Arlington Business Park, Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage SG1 2BE
01438 760 200

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Specialist Cars Luton
Leagrave Road Luton Bedfordshire LU3 1RJ
01582 590 700

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Specialist Cars Tring
London Road Tring Hertfordshire HP23 5RE
01442 890 666

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Specialist Cars Bodyshop
70 Wilbury Way Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 0TP
01462 443 838

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MINI Centres

Specialist Cars Stevenage
Arlington Business Park, Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage SG1 2BE
01438 760 200

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Specialist Cars Luton
76-88 Marsh Road Luton Bedfordshire LU3 2ZH
01582 590 700

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Specialist Cars Tring
London Road (A4251) Cow Roast Tring HP23 5RE
01442 890 666

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Specialist Cars Bodyshop
70 Wilbury Way Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 0TP
01462 443 838

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Company Info

Registered Name:
Specialist Cars Ltd

Registered Number:
2416408 England

VAT Number:
365 9146 25

Directors:
C. Fletcher
M. Donovan
C. James

Registered Address:
Arlington Business Park
Gunnels Wood Road
Stevenage
Hertfordshire
SG1 2BE