Ex-footballer on the ball in online car trade

Mr Parkinson, a former England youth player whose career was cut short by a serious pelvic injury, said he intended to take on 12 to 14 new staff over the next six to nine months.

Cars Galore, which trades as wewillbuyyourcar.com, has

not needed a large number of staff so far because of its online function, making it less labour intensive.

The firm, which is based in Hull and was set up four years ago, has grown on the back of word-of-mouth PR and high customer approval ratings.

Its customers range from traditional sellers who want to cash in on their assets, as well as Britons who are about to emigrate and aren't taking their cars with them, to servicemen about to go to Iraq who no longer have any use for their vehicle. Mr Parkinson's staff have even picked up the cars from airports, allowing clients one final journey before they go overseas.

The entrepreneur, 50, said that while they had not seen a major difference in consumers' selling patterns in the recession, there had been an increase in the number of families wanting to dispose of their second car as a cost-cutting measure.

Growing the business has also been helped by having a zero turnover of staff over the last four years. This could be due to its stakeholder-model, which allows workers to take shares in the business and so inspire them to make decisions for the long term.

"It is not a get-rich-quick scheme," Mr Parkinson said.

"We believe there is a massive marketplace and if we do it right, there is an entrepreneurial opportunity to build the business.

"We are going to do a lot more of the same good stuff. We are trying to build a business that has longevity. It will be there forever and a day."

Mr Parkinson does not own the entire business but he is the majority shareholder among a group, most of whom are from outside the car industry. He said he is backed by "a consortium of individuals who believe in the proposition and the value of the business".

Mr Parkinson said: "I don't care who you are, you get treated the same way. If you are the Queen you get treated the same way as the Royal gardener. It is about people and people's experience. We will keep on getting our message out to the 20m car drivers."

More than 99 per cent of customers said they would recommend the firm to a friend, Mr Parkinson said, and 51 per cent write positive comments on the website.

The firm – which does not act as a second-hand seller, but disposes of the vehicles to dealerships – buys cars that are fewer than six years old with a mileage below 80,000.

The deals done are anywhere between 1,000 and 45,000 but average between 7,500 and 8,000.

NOEL PARKINSON

Noel Parkinson's football career was cut short in autumn 1986, when he had been expecting another season with Colchester United and several more years in football.

He fell under a challenge from a defender and suffered a double break

and a dislocation of the pelvis.

By Christmas, he knew he wouldn't play again and he was forced to retire at 26, when he had a wife, a 14-month-old son and a six-week-old baby to support.

More than two decades later, that family has grown and Mr Parkinson and his wife, Mandy, have six children aged between five and 25.