Award for Choose Leisure

Paul and Jenny Santos, founders and owners of Kent-based motorhome dealer, Choose Leisure in Canterbury, received a ‘People & Culture’ award at the 2019 Auto Trader Retailer Awards in recognition that it puts people first in a dynamic, open and diverse working environment.

Choose Leisure has been established for 11 years and has grown to become Kent’s largest motorhome dealer. Paul Santos says; “We’re proud to have been recognised in our niche motorhome industry by automotive giant AutoTrader for the importance we place on our people and culture here at Choose Leisure – it’s something we work very hard at and I know our customers and suppliers feel the benefits too.” Jenny added: “This is a win for the whole team”. 

Now in its 12th year, the AutoTrader Retailer Awards celebrate the brands that are pushing the standard in all areas of automotive retailing. The People & Culture Award is a new addition for 2019 which highlights the importance of creating a culture in which employees feel motivated, rewarded and included. 13,000 retailers entered the awards as a whole including big names in the automotive industry such as Arnold Clark and Motorpoint. 

Award judges featured a panel of experts including senior executives from Google, KPMG, and Comparethemarket.com. Alison Ross, Platforms & Operations and People Director at AutoTrader, said that what really impressed her about Choose Leisure was, “The commitment to culture and quality over short term growth is commendable. I love how personal the stories are for induction, really communicating how special the business is. I can believe that [staff] turnover is low, working for a business with such heart is very motivational. They really are setting the benchmark.”

Auto Trader UK Group Sales Director, Darren Moon, who presented Choose Leisure with their award, said: “There’s an incredibly rigorous process that retailers have to go through to even be shortlisted for a Retailer Award, so to have been crowned winner really does demonstrate best-of-the-best in the [automotive] industry.”