Andrew Turner has come a long way since starting his life sharing a bedroom with his four brothers in a tiny flat above his parents’ greengrocer store.

He went on to launch the near £300m turnover car dealership Chorley Group, which now spans 22 franchise outlets across Lancashire.

In the latest episode of the Northern Leaders podcast, Turner revealed his mantra that it’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.

You can listen to the episode – which has been sponsored by Sancus UK – on Spotify or Apple Podcasts; or watch it on YouTube below.

The larger-than-life character has also raised millions of pounds for charity and is a life-time President of Inspire Youth Zone in Chorley.

As one of eight brothers and sisters, Turner’s childhood was dominated by hand-me-downs but by the age of five his greengrocer father had taught him how to weigh a 5lb bag of spuds.

His first job was with his Dad on the market stalls in Blackburn and his love of numbers served him well when he landed a job as a car salesman in his early 20s.

In 1989 he launched his own car dealership – the Bugle Inn Motor Company – selling his first car at auction for £510 and celebrating by going to the Little Chef.

From humble beginnings the Chorley Group was born, which today employs 450 people in Lancashire and is approaching £300m turnover.

He said: “I’ve always said we’ll never be the most profitable company but we’ll be one of the most robust by putting the interests of the customers first.”

Turner has a photographic memory when he comes to remembering the cars that he has sold – often down to the exact mileage.

He was awarded an MBE in 2019 for his charity work and in the same year he raised £60,000 for Chorley Youth Zone by braving temperatures of minus 20C to complete the Everest Base Camp Challenge.

Now aged 65, Turner shows no signs of easing up and talks about family, why he never stops learning and his love of Blackburn Rovers.

This episode of the Northern Leaders podcast is sponsored by Sancus UK, which is a real estate lender based in Manchester. Sancus UK is part of the wider Sancus Lending Group, which has offices in London, Jersey and Dublin.

It was produced by What Media. The interviewer was BusinessCloud’s executive editor Chris Maguire.

You can listen to the Northern Leaders podcast on Spotify; on Apple Podcasts; or on YouTube.