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Man who changed the face of motoring

For most young boys, their fascination with cars is limited to dinky cars and a good imagination.

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For motoring entrepreneur, Chris Bowen, 68, his love of motoring was embedded at the age of eight when given an Austin 7 by his father which he spent most of his time driving around the family haulage yard in Cannock, Staffordshire.

After spending his formative years around the motoring industry, following in his father's footsteps seemed the obvious career choice for Chris who began working life as a mechanic for his father's Cannock-based firm, Midland Motors.

Years spent treading the boards of the diverse aspects of the family business gave Chris a wide knowledge and experience of the motoring industry. It also uncovered a passion for business, and at the age of 30 his hunger for success led him to devise a plan to expand the business – a vision not shared by his father. So In 1976, Chris branched out alone setting up car retail company Crispian Motors in Hednesford.

Crispin Motors was the start of long career of successful motoring businesses. It wasn't long before the company outgrew the relatively small showroom and after locating larger premises with facilities that incorporated a bigger showroom, the concept for a new venture, The Motorhouse, was born.

"I initially set up The Motorhouse to sell executive cars – Rolls Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin etc." says Chris. "However I soon realised that the supply of this type of executive vehicle was limited."

Not to be deterred, Chris re-thought his business plan. What he devised was a unique concept that would change the face of the used car market forever.

For the first time, car buyers could purchase a nearly new, one owner, low-mileage vehicle.

Finding themselves leading this new and fast moving market, The Motorhouse grew from 50 to 150 cars per week in the first five years. At the height of the business in 1996, they were selling 350 to 400 every week.

"As is the case with any industry, people want value for money combined with excellent customer service. This is even more valued in an industry such as motoring which has always been synonymous with distrust."

This ethos became the core of the business, and whilst an intense advertising push in the local media spread the word initially, it was word of mouth that launched The Motorhouse as honourable dealers.

Today we see the likes of Aldi and Lidl operating by the same principles that Chris pioneered, offering the customer a quality product at a quality price supported by quality customer service.

Adopting this philosophy and ensuring that his workforce adhered to it, was the key to growing the business to a point where, in 1996, Chris was made an offer for the company that he simply couldn't refuse.

Having proved his concept, Chris decided to take a look at the 'other side of the fence', turning his attention to the buying rather than the selling of cars. After much research, Chris was convinced that it was time to fill a large gap that existed in the market place.

Perhaps we have all experienced that moment when our car is due for change and we approach the car salesman proudly offering our prize possession as a part exchange, only for him to take a cursory glance at it and mumble 'pity it's not black . . . or blue or green or any other colour except the colour that it actually is.

How often do we feel cheated by the money then offered for our car?

Chris well understood this from his past experience as a car retailer. So with the same desire to offer the customer real value for money, he established WeWantAnyCar.com in September 2009.

It was a brave move to start a business at the height of a recession. Chris once again based the business foundations on the same ethos that has been consistent throughout his career; offering not only customer service, but a fair and honest price. At a time when the economic climate was at an all-time low and people were hungry for deals and reluctant to part with their cash, it was a unique and much welcomed approach within this sector.

The company launched with a single branch in Cannock, and within the first year it had increased to 20 branches across the UK. The following four years saw massive growth and now boasts 75 national branches with a further 30 scheduled to open by 2015. The company also expects to purchase in excess of 80,000 vehicles in the next 12 months.

The WeWantAnyCar.com inbound inquiries team has also seen a dramatic rise in calls following a high profile national television advertising campaign that launched in January 2014.

The contact centre is currently handling on average 20,000 calls per week, which underlines the continued recent upsurge in the motoring industry.

"More and more people of all ages are now using the internet for the purpose of buying and selling.

"Our site is very user friendly and useful if you simply wish to check the value of your own car, in fact, even car dealerships use our site to value cars in part exchange."

In 2013, a multi-million pound investment into the company from one of the largest privately owned companies in the US, Cox Enterprises, fuelled the company's growth.

"The investment ultimately leads to a better deal for our customers – our enhanced scale will create more competition in this market, which can only be good news for consumers," said Chris.

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