The Listers Group dates back to the year 1979 when they were established as Listers of Coventry (Motors) Ltd by the founders Keith Bradshaw and Terry Lister. Over the years franchising deals have been penned with the likes of Audi, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and VW. They are found today in 45 locations that collectively house just over 4000 used cars that can all be viewed via www.listers.co.uk. This dealer has grown to generate just under a £1 billion turnover each year. This positions them just outside of the top 10 of every dealer. To break in and compete with the majors they’d really have to focus on expanding their network size.

One distinction seen here is the ability to access Listers finance with a poor credit score. They note using a large panel of lenders, but they don’t disclose any names. Contract options available include hire purchase and personal contract purchase agreements. There is a secure form placed on www.listers.co.uk where details can be entered. A member of their Central Funding Unit will get back to you with a phone call once they process the lead. The interest rates studied typically ranged between 10.4% and 21.7% APR. The latter belonged within their Poor interest tier. Elsewhere you usually pay closer to 40% that shows how competitive their subprime deals are.

It is quite rare to see big firms like this directly catering people with past credit problems and there is a good chance that you’ll find your ideal car from their 4000 stock. The showrooms checked were all open 7/7. To just provide a sample branch example, the times were Monday to Friday (8.30am to 6.30pm), Saturday was (9am to 6pm) and Sunday was (10am to 4pm). This chain has been picking up awards and they are very popular online. As was noted, future expansion will be key to growth. If we take Arnold Clark for example, they have 200 dealerships that is more than 4 times the number of outlets built here.