About Us

At St Leonards Motors, we have a vast range of New and Used vehicles offers for you to decide from at any of our dealerships. Boasting over 60 years trading experience, the St Leonards Motors team are fully equipped to assist you in choosing your perfect car that will suit all of your requirements.

Ensuring your car is running perfectly is our main concern when you visit St Leonards Motors. Our team of manufacturer-trained technicians ensure that your car is running at its optimum and work with cutting-edge diagnostic and repair equipment to make sure that your car is off the road for as little time as possible meaning that you can drive away full of confidence.

As one of the leading car dealers across East Sussex, Kent and East Anglia, everyone at St Leonards Motors prides themselves on the excellent customer service we offer. Whether your buying your dream vehicle or getting a service, all of our staff are on hand to make the process as quick and simple as possible.

GENDER PAY GAP REPORT

The SLM Group began as the vision of father and son team Graham and Brian Wakeford. Following the completion of his engineering training, Brian joined retired banker Graham in the purchase of a small garage on The Green, St Leonards-on Sea in 1958. On 1st January 1959, St Leonards Motors opened for business for the very first time.

The fledgling enterprise expanded quickly, and in 1960 Brian and Graham were joined by John, Brian's brother, a retired pilot, and aircraft engineer at Vickers Aviation. That same year the business became St Leonards Motors Ltd under the control of the Wakeford family, who still own the company today.

In 1972 Bo Peep Filling Station was opened and the main Fiat garage opened in 1973. At that time SLM, as they began to be known, also ran petrol stations at the original site on The Green along with others at Silverhill, Queens Road, Red Lake, and Sidley in Bexhill.

In 1974 the West Marina site unveiled it's most unique and recognisable landmark, a Gloster Meteor, which was purchased from the Ministry of Defence, underlining John Wakeford's love for all things to do with aviation. He actually flew a Meteor whilst serving in the RAF. In 1978, Ian Wakeford, son of John, joined the company straight from university.

Over the years SLM continued to expand and in 1979 the company bought Sidley Motors in London Road, Bexhill, which originally operated as a Fiat dealership until 1983 when it became a full Toyota operation.

In 1986 the company, and the aircraft, relocated to Churchwood Drive. In 1989 it split off its Bodyshop which finally settled in Brunel Road. In 1994 the site opened a Nissan dealership alongside the Fiat site, and in 1995 opened a Vauxhall site on Sedlescombe Road North

In 2005, having outgrown the site in Bexhill the company moved its Toyota business into the same location as the Vauxhall site, and soon after acquired a second Toyota site in Uckfield.

In 2011, we opened our first dealership in Tunbridge Wells with a full Vauxhall dealership. During this time the site in Bexhill remained within the family as a specialist used car site. Recognising the success of this site, the company decided to introduce a large dedicated used car site in Churchwood Drive, St Leonards, and SLM Select Cars opened its doors for business in 2013. The beloved aircraft was donated to a museum in the north of England but remains a fond memory of locals in and around Hastings

In 2017, The SLM Group increased in size once more and purchased Dingles Motor Group based in East Anglia. This added a further three Toyota dealerships at SLM Norwich, SLM Attleborough, SLM Lowestoft and Lexus Authorised Repairer to the group, plus a second Bodyshop in Norwich.

Mark Phillips became Managing Director in 2019 who is accompanied by Gus Wakeford, Jason Barlow and Will Woods to make up the board of directors for the SLM Group.

In 2023 The SLM Group proudly introduced the Suzuki brand which will operate from our showroom in Tunbrigde Wells. Suzuki as a brand is trusted by both customers and the dealer network, winning numerous awards and in January 2023 were voted as the No1 Brand for customer service in the motor trade for the 6^th time.

We are delighted to welcome the GWM ORA franchise to our portfolio. On 14th June we opened the doors to our brand new GWM ORA showroom at Delft way, Norwich, marking the beginning of a new era in sustainable and innovative transportation solutions for the people of East Anglia. This latest addition is the ninth official sales and service centre in the UK for the brand.

SLM Group now operates sites in East Sussex, Kent and East Anglia. As of 2023, the family group is comprised of 5 Toyota dealerships, 1 Vauxhall dealership, 1 Nissan dealership, 1 Suzuki dealership, 1 GMW ORA dealership, 2 used cars sites SLM Select plus two Body Repair Centres.