Sir George Kenning
| Sir George Kenning | |
|---|---|
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|
| Born |
21 May 1880 Clay Cross, Derbyshire, England |
| Died | 6 February 1956 (aged 75) Stumperlowe Hall, Sheffield, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur in the motor trade |
| Known for | Kenning car dealerships and vehicle hire business |
| Notable work | Early pioneer of providing motor trade services |
Sir George Kenning (21 May 1880 – 6 February 1956) was a British entrepreneur who grew the family business from a corner shop to a nationwide car dealership that employed around 2,000 people. Kenning became one of the early pioneers in selling, servicing and financing the use of motor vehicles by industry, commerce and individuals. At the time of his death, the firm had a turnover of £20m. Kenning was also active as a local councillor and benefactor. He was knighted in 1943.
Kenning was born in 1880. His father Frank had started a door-to-door hardware retail business two years before. By 1891 he was helping his father in his business which was now based at a hardware shop on the high street in Clay Cross, but also had a stall at Chesterfield market.
Kenning started his own paraffin distribution business in 1901, distributing with a horse-drawn cart. In 1908, he launched two new businesses: hiring bicycles to Shell-Mex travelling salesmen and hiring horses to pull British Petroleum wagons. These were pioneering examples of what is now termed "contract hire". This hire business continued to grow until, in 1970, the Kennings Group had a hire fleet of 5000 vehicles.
In 1910, Kenning started his first motor sales agency, for BSA Royal Enfield motorcycles. His first motor car agency was with Ford in 1916. Three years later Kenning became the sole agency for Morris Motors in Derbyshire. He became a long-term business associate and friend of another pioneer of widespread car ownership, Lord Nuffield. Nuffield was the manufacturer of Morris cars. Alongside car agencies, he set up supporting businesses like forecourt petrol sales, car servicing and car spares sales. Soon after that, he won the first agency granted by the truck-making firm Dennis.
In 1925, he started an association with Reeve Burgess, a firm that made truck and bus bodies for mounting on lorry frames. Vehicle-building became another subsidiary business of the Kenning empire, producing milk floats in Shrewsbury and road tankers in Ossett. Another subsidiary business was car valeting and in 1939, sophisticated valeting equipment was installed at both the London and Sheffield sites.
Kenning became the first agents in the UK for Lucas electrical components and the first for the Tyresoles system of remoulding tyres for longer life. He also set up the Midlands Counties Motor Finance Company. The subsidiary businesses around tyres started by George were subsequently developed and became one of the largest suppliers of car, commercial and earth mover tyres in the country. Kennings also operated three tyre remoulding factories and marketed their own label, Fisk and John Bull, tyres.
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