Established in 1981, Peter Cooper is the leading Volkswagen expert on the South Coast.

Peter Cooper: not just a dealership… it’s a landmark
 
 
Ask someone to name a Hedge End landmark and they will probably say “The Peter Cooper Garage” or “The Peter Cooper Roundabout”. Everyone knows where it is, it seems to have always been there. Well it sort of has. This age-old business has been in residence in Hedge End, prospering as a thriving car dealership for over 25 years.
 
Orginally “Rex Neat”, a Renault dealership it changed to Peter Cooper’s in 1981 when it was opened by legendary racing driver Stirling Moss.
 
Peter Cooper is a local lad, born and bred in Southampton, emigrating to Australia in 1965 where he married Marilyn and had two children Darren and Shelley. It was whilst in Sydney in 1972 that he first worked at a Volkswagen and Audi dealership. This continued until he came back to England in 1976 where he became involved in a Volkswagen garage in Yeovil in the West Country.
 
1981 saw Peter, Marilyn and the children moving again, this time to Curdridge and the business in Hedge End. He applied for a Volkswagen and Audi franchise in 1982 which continued until 1995 when it changed solely to Volkswagen. A Fareham branch of the business ran from 1991-1999 only closing due to the success of a purpose built showroom in Portsmouth which opened in 1998.
 
2003 saw more expansion with the acquisition of  Whyke Motors which came readily equipped with a  VW & Audi approved body repair centre. Very recently they also opened Lowford Car Sales in Bursledon which was acquired to remarket the quality part-exchange vehicles created from the rest of the group.
 
Enjoying the benefits of his efforts Peter started taking a back seat to son Darren in 2005. Darren who started in the business with Service and Parts in 1996 had already shown his father’s flair for business when he quickly proceeded from trainee salesman to Fareham Sales Manager in 1997. Darren has since taken the helm of the group and been awarded entry into the Who’s Who book of leading Young Entrepreneurs of the United Kingdom.
 
The Cooper’s really are a locally grown family. Both Peter and Darren were Botley School pupils and enjoy being part of a thriving local community. Says Peter, “its nice to look back and see how we’ve developed alongside the village. It’s certainly not just the commercial issues that keeps us in Hedge End. This has always been the core of our business and I hope it always will be”.
 
Still head-quartered in the original Hedge End Building, the thriving business has gone from an original 9 staff to 65 on that site and 167 across the Group, most of these being local people. One member has been with them from the beginning while many others have been with the company for over 15 years. And not only have the employees grown, but so too have the accolades, including winning the prestigious Dealer of the Year award from the manufacturer. 
 
Sponsorship and the support of local good causes is also close to the family’s heart. Supporters of Wessex Heart Beat since it started they actually presented Chief Executive Alan Blair with the charity’s first car. The company has also sponsored David Gower, Iwan Thomas, Ian Young (Stoneham Golf Pro) and continues to sponsor Hampshire Cricket Club.
 
Like any Dad, Peter now proudly watches on as Darren continues to improve the family business; consolidating and building their sound relationship with stringent quality partners Volkswagen.
 
“Dad taking a back seat from the day to day business has certainly lowered the average age of the management team” jokes Darren.
 
Peter Cooper is now established as the largest privately owned Volkswagen group on the South Coast of England. As well as their new and approved used cars within the group they also export car parts and accessories worldwide.
 
My German isn’t perfect, in fact I failed my O level many years ago but I’m sure the word Volkswagen translates into “The Peoples Car”, certainly true coming from such a friendly family orientated business.