8:34 am, May 17, 2024
Cargiant owner Geoffrey Warren has once again been named the motor trade’s wealthiest man, following the release of the Sunday Times Rich List.
The exclusive list of the 350 richest people in the UK has revealed that the 69-year-old is worth an whopping £2.552bn – the same figure as in 2023.
Warren, who also has significant interests in the property market, came 69th in the overall Rich List, one place higher than he finished last year.
The 69-year-old founded Cargiant in 1976 and has overseen its meteoric rise to become the world’s largest independent car dealership.
The company came 26th in our most recent Car Dealer Top 100 list, with an EBITDA figure of £25.8m.
At the top of that pile came Arnold Clark, with profits of £383.8m and the Scottish outfit’s owners continue to reap the rewards of that success.
Lady Philomena Clark and family and her family ended the year with a net worth of £1.581bn, to put them second in the ‘car sales’ section of the list.
Despite the eye-watering figure, the family’s value has actually dropped by £310m in the past 12 months, meaning they fell from 91st to 106th in the overall standings.
Also making the top 200 was Lord Edmiston, chairman and founder of IM Group. The Sunday Times calculates his net worth at £868m – £229m lower than last year. The drop sees his ranking fall from 162nd in 2023 to tied for 197th in 2024.
On the flip side, the Marshall family shot up ten places to joint 199th after their net worth rose by £30m to £860m.
Elsewhere, there were several returning entries onto the list from the world of automotive retail, reflecting the outstanding year enjoyed by so many dealer groups.
The Tordoff family, who own JCT600, finished in joint 301st with a net worth of £454m, level with former car dealer and philanthropist Sir Jack Petchey CBE.
Rounding off the overall list, in 350th position, Peter Lovett and family are a new entrant with a value of £353m.
The family have steered dealer group Dick Lovett to tenth in the Car Dealer Top 100, with an EBITDA of £51.2m.
Dropping out after making 2023’s list are Richard and Christine Teatum, who own Stoneacre as well as Douglas Brown and his family, who have made their money through Eastern Western.
In last year’s standings, the Teatums had a reported net worth of £440m with Douglas Brown and his family worth an estimated £350m. They placed in 317th and 345th respectively.
