A SOUTH Lakeland car sales firm plans to mark its 10th anniversary with a major expansion drive.

Westmorland Car Sales is seeking the go-ahead to build a new showroom on its three-quarters-of-an-acre site on Shap Road, Kendal.

The proposed development, which is before South Lakeland planners, will represent a £1 million investment by the firm.

Owner Paul Askew said it represented the biggest gamble of his business career, but he was certain the move would pay off.

"I am very excited and confident about the future. My staff are fired up and can't wait for the new showroom," he told Business Gazette.

Mr Askew started the car sales operation ten years ago, after taking over the second hand car lot which he previously ran for former Vauxhall dealership Atkinsons.

"I started with 30 cars and in the first year we turned over £785,000. I now have 34 staff, 80 to 100 cars, and last year our turnover was nearly £10 million," he said.

Reputation is everything in the second hand motor trade, and Mr Askew is proud of the fact that 84 per cent of his custom is repeat business.

Now he hopes to build a two storey showroom and bring the whole operation on a single site by relocating a workshop from the Mints-feet estate.

If every-thing goes according to plan, he is aiming to open the showroom in time for the New Year.

Kendal-born and bred, Mr Askew got into the car business almost by accident. After working as a chef in Jersey, he returned home and went to buy a car at Atkinsons, where he was promptly offered a job despite having no car sales experience.

Since becoming his own boss a decade ago, he has seen the business grow thanks to a mixture of "hard work and doing the job right."

Now he is poised to realise a long-held ambition to secure a new showroom.

May 15, 2003 10:30