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18th November 2008

Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire, Mr James Hawley officially opened the largest and most prestigious Arnold Clark Motorstore in Stafford today.

The new Arnold Clark Motorstore is the result of a £12 million investment that has gone into create this custom-built site, located at Prime Point Business Park , at junction 14 off the M6.  It accommodates a staggering 1,000 vehicles and when placed bumper to bumper would stretch over an incredible 4 miles.  It sits on 10.2 acres, uses the latest green building technology and employs over 200 new members of staff from the Stafford area.

Sir Arnold Clark, Chairman and Chief Executive of Europe’s largest independent motor dealer, celebrated and remembered World War II heroes at the opening of the Motorstore with a host of dignitaries and VIPs including the The Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire, the Mayor of Stafford Borough, Councillor Ann Edgeller, Governors and the Chairman of the Parish Council and had the celebrity presence of the beautiful Miss England 2008, Laura Coleman.

Over 200 guests were welcomed into the Motorstore by piper, coincidently - named Mr Arnold.  They were then treated to a jazz band trio while an exquisite lunch was served within a private area of the building.  Lunch was followed by a special WWI and WWII commemorative march complete with drum, bugler, the raising of the standard and a two minute silence.  Ex RAF Servicemen and Sir Arnold Clark, who is also an ex RAF WWII serviceman, took part in this march before watching a nostalgic spectacular spitfire fly over.

Sir Arnold Clark wanted to officially open the car Motorstore this week to mark the 90th anniversary of World War II and the RAF, and to celebrate the bravery of USAAF Captain John Perrin, who saved the village of Creswell in Staffordshire by giving his own life.  The young war time pilot developed problems flying over Stafford but, instead of baling out, he remained at the controls long enough to avoid hitting Creswell, before crashing into a wheat field and exploding.  

The Perrin Memorial sits adjacent to the Motorstore.  Sir Arnold Clark has a strong association with the RAF as, it helped him found his business.  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 and using DEMOB money 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, he 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.

Sir Arnold Clark, Chairman and Chief Executive said, “I am delighted that our flagship Motorstore is officially open.  It gives me so much pleasure to thank the staff, architects and community who have all helped to make this magnificent Motorstore happen.  As a former RAF Motor Mechanics Instructor, I am pleased to remember the WWII heroes with this fitting opening ceremony.  On behalf of the Arnold Clark Group I would like to extend my thanks to everyone who has been involved in the development and pay tribute to all the service people who have given there lives in conflict from WWI, WWII and current conflicts.”

Lord-Lieutenant, Mr James Hawley, said “This is an exciting time for Stafford and I sincerely believe that the communities surrounding Stafford will benefit from Arnold Clark’s investment and commitment to the community.”

View the current stock list for Stafford Motorstore here.