Following the purchase in 1979 of three of Wadham Stringer’s Commercial vehicle branches at Ashford, Bexhill and Tonbridge, at the beginning of 1980 another of their premises was acquired at Hailsham, where redevelopment began immediately, to provide a new Austin Rover Showroom and Regional Parts Centre.

The 1980s continued with expansion of the Company’s business by the acquisition of new premises in Sevenoaks in 1981 and saw the continuation of the new policy of diversification of franchises which was to be the keynote of the coming years. Renault was brought in at Dover, Folkestone and Maidstone, Audi-Volkswagen at Bexhill and Haywards Heath, and the Lancia franchise was added at the new West Country branches. The year also saw a revitalisation of the Company’s visual image, with the introduction of the now familiar two-tone blue “lozenge” form of the Caffyns logo.

In the same year Mr Alan Caffyn was appointed Chairman, succeeding Sir Edward Caffyn, who on his retirement became President of the Company. Mr Alan, following in the footsteps of previous generations, was closely involved in many diverse activities. A past President of the Sussex Cricket Club, Vice President of BEN, the National Motor Trade Benevolent Fund, and President of the Eastbourne Historic Vehicle Club. 

As allowed by the Companies Act 1980, on 29th October 1981 the Company changed its name from Caffyns Ltd. to Caffyns plc.

In 1982 another member of the Caffyn family, Mr Douglas Caffyn, who joined the Company in 1976, was appointed to the Board as Executive Director. A graduate of Cambridge University as well as an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries, he was originally in charge of the Caffyns Pension Fund. Now his responsibilities were expanded to include forecourt operations and all property matters.

In the early part of the decade the pattern of the retail motor trade changed dramatically. The car manufacturers launched a program of streamlining their dealerships, at the same time demanding continually higher standards and levels of investment. On the Service side, extended intervals between services and minimising of servicing schedules caused a general dilution of this part of the industry A review of the Company’s activities led to a plan of rationalisation being carried out and, in towns where representation existed at several sites, consolidation was achieved by centralising activities and selling excess capacity 

In the light of these major changes, in 1982 the Main Board of Directors had decided that a restructuring of the Company’s management was desirable. As a result of the recommendations of Management Consultants Urwick Orr and Partners, all branches were grouped into regions, each one under the control of a newly appointed Regional Director. A Regional Board of some 10 senior members of staff was thus formed to consult with the Main Board on the day-to-thy operation of the Company in the rapidly changing climate of the motoring world. The new management style brought wide-ranging changes to the Company, with increased regional autonomy, new accounting systems and further computerisation.

Branches at Tenterden, Hastings, Westerham, Dover and Folkestone were closed. Another “casualty” was Rolls Royce — in common with most car manufacturers, Rolls Royce greatly reduced the number of their retail outlets, and in 1984 the franchise held since 1927 was relinquished.

This decisive action, together with the new management structure and the acquisition of further new franchises, helped Caffyns to weather the difficult years ahead more successfully than some of its competitors.

Since the installation of their first business computer in 1965 when the Company’s annual turnover was around £10 million, by 1983 this had grown to over £70 million and, although its capacity had been increased three times in the intervening years, by now it had reached the end of its useful life and a completely new ICL system was installed. Indeed, the volume of business continued to expand to the extent that in 1986 it exceeded £100 million.

Also in 1983, Caffyns were appointed Managing Agents for the Youth Training Scheme (now known as Training Credit).

The mid l980s was an especially busy time. The introduction of Audi-Volkswagen at Goring near Worthing made Caffyns the largest group of Aud1AW dealers in Sussex. Other new appointments included a General Motors Main Dealership at East Grinstead for the Vauxhall range of cars and vans; the Nissan franchise at Canterbury where activities were transferred to a new showroom and workshop on the outskirts of the city with greatly improved access for customers and a major Land Rover Centre in the newly developed Brooks Road area of Lewes.

This period also saw an important new development of the Service side of the business, Flexi-Serve. Launched in 1985 and conceived and marketed by Anthony Caffyn, Joint Managing Director (Service), this system of fixed-price car maintenance for all popular makes of car, which included “menu-pricing”, would give car owners the freedom to select exactly what work was to be done at pre-quoted prices with no hidden extras. All the work would be guaranteed for three months (later increased to twelve months) against defective parts or workmanship and only top quality materials would be used. This facility offered by a main dealer was so unique at the time that it featured in the BBC program Top Gear.

In response to changing marketing conditions the Company established in 1984 a new division at Canterbury — Caffyns Motor Contracts — especially created to offer the widest possible range of financing options for the acquisition of vehicles, whether for business or private use. Techniques are based on long experience

— Caffyns began Contract Hiring Schemes back in the mid 1930s. The business now operates from Ashford with a second branch in Brighton and provides vehicles nationally.

During 1986 Caffyns devised a vehicle funding package which they called Driveplan. This was basically a lease scheme for private motorists which until then had only been available in the UK to business users. Some nine years later, essentially the same package would be offered as Personal Contract Plans (PCPs) by almost all major manufacturers.

Other developments during this period included the opening of a replacement Coachshop at Hailsham with fully equipped Paint Shop to add to the extensive Sales, Service and Parts facilities already available there. Caffyns’ smaller sites were not overlooked and the familiar Eastbourne landmark of Crossways petrol station was updated to provide easy-access self-serve facilities, combined with a well-stocked “Shop for the Motorist”, with a 24-hour service

After being active in the Heavy Commercial Vehicle field for the last 75 years, it was decided to reduce investment in this highly­specialised and increasingly competitive area. In a mutually advantageous management buy out, the Kent operation based at Ashford was taken over by Ron Stupple, who had been associated with the Company’s Commercial Division for 28 years. The Sussex operation was sold to Evans Haishaw plc.

Throughout the 1980s, Caffyns’ Accident Repair and Parts Delivery Services, were streamlined and greatly expanded to meet the needs of the increasing number of cars on the road and the extended range of car franchises that had been acquired. To provide the higher standards of repair and paint finish that were being introduced by the manufacturers, the Company’s major accident repair centres in Crowborough, Brighton, Worthing and Hailsham were completely re-equipped.

To ensure the necessary parts were available for both routine servicing and accident repairs, a network of major parts depots was established with a transport fleet to serve both retail and trade customers. In addition, a network of “Express Factors” depots were set up to give rapid service to local branches and customers with deliveries at regular intervals. By 1986 the Company carried in stock around 50,000 different “lines” or types of part to the value of nearly £2 million.

In October 1987, the Fiat branch in Sa1isbur~ taken over when the Rob Walker Group was acquired in 1977, was changed to the Toyota franchise and in the latter part of the decade active development took place in several other directions including three new Austin Rover dealerships. These were established at Tonbridge (a redevelopment of the former Commercial premises), officially opened by Mr Kevin Morley, Commercial Director of Austin Rover: at Ashford, also a part of a major redevelopment, which was officially opened in October 1988 by Mr (later Sir) Graham Day, then Chairman of the Rover Group and at Hove, Kingsway.

The Company’s activities in the luxury sector of the market, which earlier centered mainly on Rolls Royce agencies and then Jaguar, now expanded steadily with the opening in July 1987 of impressive new premises for Mercedes-Benz at Dorchester, followed by another Mercedes-Benz centre at Salisbury in July 1989, later officially opened by Mr Hans Tauscher, Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz UK Ltd.

In September 1988 Caffyns staged a motor show with a difference, by taking over the South of England Showground at Ardingly for a highly successful “Ride the Range” thy. This provided a family day out with TV and Radio personality Ed Stewart hosting the show. Competitions and sporting attractions were added to the opportunities of test driving dozens of demonstration vehicles.

The 1980s saw a considerable growth in the UK of business leasing and the operation of company cars. With many regional businesses being acquired by the large multi-national companies, fleet vehicle acquisitions were being made centrally in much larger quantities, resulting in manufacturers supplying direct rather than through dealers. This led to Caffyns’ branches relying more on sales to local businesses and private buyers.

During the mid ‘80s world-wide recession, high interest rates and increasing unemployment led to a decline in consumer spending with many companies going out of business. Although this was a difficult trading period, with its strong background and astute management, Caffyns were able to maintain modest profits.