Turnover and profits have been consistently on the up at Luscombe Suzuki Leeds for the past three years with return on sales at a healthy 3.2% and overhead absorption at 92.2%.

It may not be the biggest dealership in terms of pure turnover, but the judges were impressed by its ability to deliver exceptional customer service and execute an innovative retailing strategy.

Luscombe Suzuki Leeds gets the basics right, but also strives to keep improving little by little, forging its own path. It’s why this showroom has already been recognised by Suzuki as the best in the UK at the Japanese brand’s own recent National Dealer of the Year awards.

One of the critical areas that saw Luscombe Suzuki Leeds stand out from the pack for the judges is the dealership’s digital forecourt.

The dealership’s new and used car photography has been adopted as a benchmark standard by Suzuki and Auto Trader. It has rebuilt its website to better capture the way Luscombe operates face-to-face in the showroom and has forged its own path with video content.

The unique selling point for the company is its culture, driven by owner and managing director Robin Luscombe.

However, his big personality at the business was also seen as a potential issue as there was a risk that it had become too reliant on one person.

As a result, MD Luscombe introduced a management team to the business to promote a sense of ownership and deeper contribution to performance.

He couldn’t have known his preparations would be tested so soon after he was involved in a motorcycle incident that took him away from the business for nine months while he recovered. Had it happened prior to establishing the management team, the business would have lacked strategic decision-making.

However, the team’s ownership, responsibility and accountability resulted in success, posting its second best ever year, even though nine months of that period was without the MD.

Highly commended: Citygate Volkswagen Ruislip

Finalists: Cartime, Citygate Volkswagen Ruislip, Luscombe Suzuki Leeds, MB Motors

Award sponsored by: AutoTrader