When Peter Vardy – son of motor industry giant and philanthropist Sir Peter Vardy and grandson of Reg Vardy, who started dealing cars in 1923 – sets out to expand his vast operation (he employs 900 people and has 13 dealerships) into heritage car sales, restoration and transportation, it’s safe to guess he’ll make a success of it.
It’s only a year into the venture, which is based in Glasgow, and Vardy has already sold cars to international footballers, media personalities and HNWs based in the UK and abroad. His vision is to offer a broad range of models across the whole price spectrum, so ‘there’s something for everyone’.
‘We’re trying to do something on a bigger scale than most people have tried so far,’ he says. ‘Our aim is to become the top classic car dealers in the UK. It’ll take time to get there, but there’s an awful lot of interest in what we’re doing.’
Vardy’s first job was manning a petrol pump at 14. At 15 he moved into sales and then did 11 years at his grandfather’s business. The move into classic cars was a no-brainer, he says: ‘This is an iconic investment opportunity as well as something you can enjoy.’
And enjoy it he does. His heart’s desire is a BMW 507 thanks to Elvis Presley, whose white one would get covered in the lipstick marks of his female fans.