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Broad Lane Leisure.
Broad Lane was originally started in Northamptonshire in 1971 by
brothers Jack and Colin Brown. They acquired the premises known as the
Toll House which was a disused petrol filling station and remodelled
it in partnership with Shell Oils. The idea was to sell petrol and
offer to the passing customers a range of new frame and ridge tents
that the brothers displayed behind the petrol forecourt building. This
side of the business was named Go Camping and still today the local
people of Daventry refer to this name when talking about us. Providing
such a display and service to the young families of the time proved an
instant success and eventually the brothers were able to move onto
selling second hand caravans and then new caravans by 1974.
Always looking to expand , Jack and Colin took the opportunity to buy
the Leek Wootton site in 1976 allowing them to become a significant
retailer of new and used caravans in the midlands.
By
the late 70’s early 80’s Broad Lane who were already strong dealers
for Swift and Abbey turned their attentions to the little known Adria
franchise and set out to become the country’s leading authority on all
aspects of this brand. Forging an excellent working partnership with
the importers at Bedford headed by Sheila Tilson
(and husband Alan) and ably assisted by the UK sales manager Jim
Curry, both of whom were highly regarded within the industry, Broad
Lane were soon the UK No 1 Adria retailer.
In
1984 the Rugby branch was acquired followed by the flagship Alcester
depot in 1990.In 1994 Broad Lane were forced to stop selling the Adria
brand as the importer ceased trading due mostly to the withdrawal of
funding from the manufacturers.
HOWEVER WE ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE INTEND TO REGAIN OUR MANTLE
OF UK NO 1 RETAILER.
Jack and Colin are still very active within the business along with
Jack’s son David and Colin’s two sons Stephen and Darren.
The
recipe for the family success is the same now as it was in 1971.That
is to uphold traditional values and level of service long forgotten by
most large companies. |