Hendy Group is celebrating one hundred and fifteen years since becoming Ford’s first official retailer in Britain.
The partnership began in Southampton in nineteen ten, when local businessman Percy Hendy met Henry Ford at the docks after hearing about the Model T’s arrival. Their meeting led to an agreement to sell Ford cars from Hendy’s East Street premises, marking the start of a lasting relationship between the two companies.
As Ford’s popularity grew, Hendy expanded into Vincents Walk, Pound Tree Road, Chandlers Ford, and Boscombe in Bournemouth, helping to build the company’s reputation across the South Coast. During the Second World War, Hendy’s Southampton and Chandler’s Ford sites played a vital role in assembling Spitfire aircraft.
Today, the group operates eight Ford dealerships across Hampshire, Kent, Surrey, and West Sussex and now represents twenty-five vehicle manufacturers from more than sixty locations. It remains a family-run business, with sixth-generation Hendy family members already involved.
Lisa Brankin, Chair and Managing Director at Ford of Britain and Ireland, said the partnership has been part of Ford’s story from the very beginning, while Chief Executive Paul Hendy described it as a privilege to have represented the brand for so long.
The company, now employing over one thousand five hundred people, is preparing for a new era of electrified mobility as it continues to grow its legacy that began on the Southampton docks more than a century ago.
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