Motorpoint has appointed former JLA group operations director Andy Smyth as its first-ever chief operating officer as it looks to shift all aspects of its business “from good to great”.

Smyth, who had been in-post with the servicing specialist for the past six years, will be based at the top ranked ID50 car supermarket group’s newly-opened group headquarters on Pride Park, Derby.

Motorpoint chief executive, Mark Carpenter, said: “Andy joins us from JLA, a company that specialises in ensuring efficient delivery of equipment where quality, consistency of service and speed are critical measures, and we look forward to him bringing these qualities to Motorpoint as we go from ‘Good to Great’ in all aspects of our business.”

A statement issued by Motorpoint today (November 12 revealed that Smyth had previously spent 25 years working in senior roles within British Gas, most notably as head of operations.

He also spent time heading-up the Scottish Government’s £200 million Energy Assistance Programme as part of a strategy to reduce fuel poverty.

In his new role at Motorpoint Smyth will oversee vehicle preparation and logistics together with operational excellence and business improvement across the company’s network of branches throughout England, Scotland and Wales, including Motorpoint’s new multi-million pound purpose-built Vehicle Preparation Centre in Peterborough.

Commenting on his appointment, Smyth said: “Motorpoint is a hugely ambitious business, and the opportunity to affect change and really make a difference to the car buying experience for our customers, is one I am extremely excited about.

“I thoroughly enjoyed myself at JLA and loved the speed of pace of working in private equity but the opportunity to come and join Motorpoint was one I couldn’t resist.

“I’ve been incredibly impressed from day one by the vision of the executive team as well as the culture of continuous improvement which, when backed by the quality of the cars and the spirit of the teams on the ground, makes Motorpoint a very compelling proposition.”

Last month Motorpoint reported that its gross profit margin for the six months to September 30 will be flat due to “unusually high price pressure on car margins over the early summer months”.

In a trading update ahead of publishing its results on November 28, Motorpoint said it expects to report revenue growth of about 1%, which it believes is a significant outperformance of the nearly-new car market “and therefore represents a material increase in market share”.