Celebrating 80 Years of JCT600

JCT600 is 80 years old! Since opening our doors on Sticker Lane in 1946, we’ve helped generations of people get on the road and keep moving.

Over eight decades, the automotive world has changed significantly. From the vehicles themselves to the technology within them and the way people buy their vehicles, everything has evolved, but one thing has remained constant - our commitment to delivering exceptional experiences for our customers and brand partners alike.

Our story began 80 years ago on the 20^th June 1946, when JCT600 was founded as Tordoff Motors Ltd, trading as Brooklands Garage on Sticker Lane in Bradford by Edward Tordoff. When he passed away at just 47, his son Jack Tordoff was only 15 years old and was originally training to become an architect. However, due to the circumstances, he decided to join the garage as an apprentice motor mechanic in 1950.

Jack later completed his National Service in the Army, where he continued working in mechanics. He returned to the business in 1958, although he nearly stayed in the Army after being offered a commission. Following the death of his father, Jack felt it was right to go home otherwise, he likely would have remained in the Army, and the Tordoff business as we know it today may have been a very different story.

With a £1,000 loan from his mother, he bought out his father’s former partners and began shaping what the business would become.

As the business grew, it was awarded a sub-franchise for Standard and Triumph cars from the Farnell Family, the oldest Land Rover dealers in the country, and a second dealership was built alongside the original site. At this stage, the business was still known as Tordoff Motors.

In the 1950s, after purchasing a Mercedes-Benz 600 with the personalised registration plate “JCT600”, Jack adopted the name for the business - with “JCT” representing his initials, and “600” representing the car itself. 

The iconic number plate later appeared on his rally cars, helping establish the JCT600 name across the UK and becoming part of our story for generations to come.

As the business continued to grow throughout the decades, so did its connection to the communities it serves. In 1986, JCT600 became a sponsor of Bradford City AFC.

Jack Tordoff was a lifelong supporter of the club, serving as honorary life president and previously playing a pivotal role in its history, including helping to take the club out of administration in 1983. He also went on to serve as chairman for four years, supporting the club through a key rebuilding period, including the restoration of Valley Parade following the devastating fire in 1985.

In recognition of his lasting impact and lifelong commitment, the "Jack Tordoff Boardroom" at Valley Parade stands as a permanent tribute to his legacy.

We're proud to continue partnering with the club nearly 40 years later, with JCT600 remaining front and centre on the team's shirts.

One of the most significant changes in recent years has been how customers choose and buy their vehicles.

In 2020, JCT600 saw its first vehicle reserved online. Online purchasing was always on the cards, and when coronavirus hit in March 2020, it ramped up that need further. We managed to launch Reserve Online in two weeks, ahead of the national lockdown in the UK.

The first fully completed online sale followed in 2021. With the automotive industry shifting gears to e-commerce, we had our very first online sale in 2021, and to this day we continue to see online sales growing steadily.

Today, JCT600 remains proudly family-owned and family-run. Following the passing of Jack Tordoff in 2021, leadership of the business passed to his son, John Tordoff, who continues to drive the company's vision and success. His brother, Ian Tordoff, remains actively involved in the business, alongside the next generation of the Tordoff family, all of whom play a role in shaping JCT600's future.

In recent years, John has been instrumental in the company's continued growth and profitability, successfully steering the business through one of the most transformative periods in automotive history. From the rise of online vehicle retailing and the transition to electric vehicles to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruption, and rapidly changing customer expectations, JCT600 has continued to adapt, innovate, and thrive while staying true to the family values that have defined the business for the past 80 years.

Did you know the original Brooklands name lives on today, home to some of the world’s most iconic luxury brands, Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce and Bentley in Lower Wortley, Leeds, while on Sticker Lane, where our journey began, is still home to many of our brands today - Lotus, Maserati, BMW, MINI and Audi, a direct link between our earliest days and the business we are today.

To really understand how much has changed since 1946, let's take a closer look at what we’re older than at the big 8-0.

JCT600 was founded four years before the first official Formula 1 World Championship. It was already established more than a decade before the UK’s first motorway, the M1, opened in 1959, a route that now runs close to many of our dealerships. And it was around long before everyday technologies like mobile phones, the internet, email and text messaging became part of daily life.

We're even older than MINI, which first hit the roads in 1959, 13 years after JCT600 began its journey. MINI joined the JCT600 family in 2001.

As we celebrate 80 years, the automotive world continues to move forward at pace with the introduction of electric and hybrid vehicles, advancements in connected technology and changing customer expectations.

Today, we’re one of the UK's most respected and most trusted motor retailers, representing 23 of the world's most famous manufacturers at more than 50 locations across the North of England.

But while the business has grown over the years, JCT600 remains a family business today, run by John Tordoff, son of Jack Tordoff. 

Here’s to everyone who has been part of our journey so far, and to the road ahead.