£1.8m bike centre new chapter in family business

Their business, however, has survived two world wars, the Depression and a series of technological changes that have seen bikes go from the sedate Triumph to high-performance BMWs that can top 200km per hour.

Now Allan Jefferies BMW has begun a new chapter in its long history and opened a 1.8m showroom in Baildon, in West Yorkshire.

The bike centre, which was built on a former galvanising site and includes a new workshop, is a long way from the grimy-fingerered image of a typical motorcycle hub. It is clean and sparkling and is stocked with upmarket new and second-hand bikes, with top-of-the-range machines, like the HP2 Sport, selling for around 15,000.

The 7.3m turnover firm, now solely a BMW franchise after previously stocking Japanese marques as well, attracts devotees of biking from as far away as southern Scotland.

Mr Jefferies took the site after outgrowing the business's previous site, which was also in Baildon. The showroom was built with the aim of expanding. Turnover is expected to reach about 8.8m for the 12 months to next September and the family wants to grow this to more than 10m for the following year.

The long history of the firm did not prevent people from being sceptical when Mr Jefferies revealed his plan for the new site, but his idea was fulfilled after striking a deal with Newmason Properties, in which the developer would sell the firm the land and then build the showroom for them.

"When we started the project, the word on the street was 'Jefferies has lost his marbles'," Mr Jefferies said.

"In a recessionary period, with the motorcycle industry retail figures some 20 per cent down, with the exception of BMW, what on earth are they doing? We were moving voluntarily, without the demands of the manufacturer.

"The answer is simple. We believe we have seen an opportunity and grasped it with both hands. We have taken it full on and know we can benefit and prosper from it."

The firm, which has 18 staff, bears the name of Mr Jefferies' father, who served as a captain in The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during the Second World War, but its origins go back to 1901, when Joseph Jefferies, a peg-legged picture framer and pioneer motorist, carried out his first trade. By 1917, the business was established at Saltaire Road, Shipley, in the days when car-owners needed somewhere to store their vehicles, because garages were not yet widespread.

Today, it sells about 800 new and used bikes a year.

Mr Jefferies' daughter, Louise, joined the business as general manager 10 years ago and is now a director, but he and the rest of the family suffered a tragic blow in 2003 when his son, David, 30, died on the track. A lap record holder at the Isle of Man TT races, David crashed on a practice ride; the cause of the accident has never been discovered. Mr Jefferies said he wanted to "build something as a legacy". Now a charity fund exists in David's memory.

Racing has also taken its toll on Mr Jefferies, with the businessman confined to a wheelchair after breaking his back in an accident in 1973.

But this has not prevented him from continuing to expand the business, and the new site, officially unveiled to local businesses and biking experts on Tuesday night, is the largest serviced BMW motorcycle dealership in Europe.

"And the strange thing is that we do not do anything special; we just do it right," Mr Jefferies said.

"I spent a considerable time with an American consultant in the '90s who had his good and bad points. His dictate was 'You must make it easy to buy' and that is what we have done."

'Long way' boost for business

Allan Jefferies will register about 380 new BMW motorcycles this year, an increase of 40 per cent on 2009, according to sales manager Simon Sayer.

One of the reasons for achieving the spike at a time when total sales of British motorcycles fell, has been the use of BMW Bikes by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman in their Long Way Round and Long Way Down travel documentaries. Mr Sayer also highlighted hard work of staff, some of whom have been with the business for four decades, and said customer service was "not rocket science" but about simply treating people well.