Sir Peter Vardy

Sir Peter Vardy DL (born 4 March 1947) is a British businessman and philanthropist from Houghton-le-Spring in Sunderland. His business interests have been mainly in the automotive retail business. In the Sunday Times Rich List 2009 ranking of the wealthiest people in the United Kingdom, he was placed 388th, with an estimated fortune of £140 million.

He attended the Chorister School in Durham (1956–1961) and Durham School.

Vardy took control of the family's Ford car dealership in 1976, Reg Vardy, after the death of his father who had founded the business. He expanded the business from the one dealership in the north east of England with six staff, to a group of over 100 dealerships with over 6,000 staff. He grew the business nationally representing luxury and performance cars such as Rolls Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Land Rover Jaguar and Audi, in addition to the major volume brands. In February 2005, he accepted an offer of £506m from Pendragon, making the enlarged group the largest car dealership chain within the United Kingdom.

Following the sale of Reg Vardy plc, the Vardy Group of Companies was launched in Durham, comprising the Vardy Property Group, led by his elder son Richard; and Peter Vardy Ltd, a new motor group established in Scotland and led by Peter Vardy

Vardy has been awarded several business and industry awards, as well as an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration (University of Sunderland, 1995) and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws (Eastern University of Philadelphia, USA, 2009). He has received a knighthood for services to education in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2001., as well being appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Tyne and Wear in 2002 and the Freedom of the City of Sunderland in 2011.

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