Revilo founder joins Cartime team

(L-R): Lee Collins and Matt Kay

Local car supermarket Cartime has welcomed the founder and chief executive of Revilo Group to its team as non-executive chairman on a consultancy basis as the firm looks to strengthen the development and operational efficiency of the business.

Lee Collins brings more than three decades of experience with him to Cartime, which has dealerships in Bury and Rochdale, and the firm’s boss is delighted to have him join the company to help the business grow further.

Matt Kay, founder and CEO of Cartime, said: “In recent years the business has grown significantly, we added Rochdale and the 4x4 Centre to our list of locations, whilst also dealing with significant ‘headwinds’ from the arrival of Covid.

“I recently invited Lee Collins to assist me and the management team in the further development of Cartime. The aim is to improve operational efficiency to help maintain our profitably and improve customer satisfaction. I am pleased to say Lee has now joined the management team on a consultancy basis as non-executive chairman.

“He brings with him a huge amount of automotive experience, along with extensive board level experience, not least with Jaguar Land Rover, having served almost ten years on their dealer council as regional chairman and as the UK sales panel chairman.”

Lee has spent 35 years in the Automotive sector, with Rover, Fiat, BMW, Land Rover and Jaguar franchises; starting his career as a car salesman at Lookers Austin Rover in Rochdale, before moving through sales management into senior management, before completing a management buyout of the franchise dealer group where he was then managing director.

Almost ten years later, he went on to sell the group to Vertu PLC. Along with his dealer group, he also owned and managed his own marketing company, Image Red, which he also sold to Vertu PLC.

Following his appointment, Lee said: “Matt and I have known each other for a while now, and it is good practice for rapidly growing businesses to seek the support of other experienced directors to help with their development, to ensure the owner of the business additional management support at senior level, when the demands on their time are excessive.

“To Matt's credit, he had the vision and experience to create Cartime and now, to invite me to join the company during this growth phase, to ensure Cartime has the right management structure, process and procedures in place as it heads towards £100million in turnover.

“After 35 years in the automotive sector, 24 years as a company director and as a business owner, I have a strong track record in creating and operating high-performing businesses with an enviable record of customer satisfaction. This and my experience at board level, will allow me to support Matt, to ensure Cartime continues to build on its already successful past performance.”

Named the UK Car Supermarket of the Year for two years running, Cartime currently employs 120 staff. It is one of the fastest-growing independent used car dealerships in the region stocking more than 1,000 vehicles, from family saloons and 4x4s to high-performance sports models.