RAC Ltd
RAC was incorporated on 24 March 1928 as Lex Garages Ltd. The company changed its name in 1969 to the Lex Service Group Ltd and was renamed Lex Service plc in 1982. On 30 August 2002, the company changed its name again to RAC plc. The company was acquired by Aviva in 2005 and in April 2011 was re-registered as a limited company changing its name to RAC Ltd.
Company History
Commemorative plaque for the acquisition of RAC Ltd
Poster for television advertising campaign starring Lennox Lewis and Vinnie Jones
RAC patrol van
The company was founded by brothers Norman and Rosser Chinn, former furniture salesmen who bought a share in seven garages. The company owned Finsbury Park car park and petrol station, the first car park to be built under a London square.
In 1958, the company became the sole importer of Volvo cars and parts into the UK. Volvo cars were sold through Lex Brooklands dealerships while Rover, Jaguar and Rolls-Royce cars were sold through Lex Mead.
The company was involved in both the leasing and distribution of cars, commercial vehicles and lift trucks, as well as the aftermarket, including import, sale, finance, parts and after-sales service. Following the acquisition of RAC, the company expanded into motoring services such as roadside assistance, traffic information, driving tuition, servicing and repair, financing and insurance.
Key dates
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1928 | The company is established |
| 1969 | Name changes to the Lex Service Group |
| 1982 | Name changes to Lex Service |
| 2002 | Name changes to RAC |
| 2005 | RAC is acquired by Aviva |
Did you know...?
- Mead of Maidenhead, a subsidiary of Lex Garages, offered George Lazenby a job selling cars following his performance as James Bond in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".
- In 1970, the company opened the first tape library in the country, allowing motorists to borrow tape recordings to listen to while they drove.
Subsidiaries and constituents*
| Year | Company name |
|---|---|
| by 1958 | Lex Transportation Ltd |
| 1850 - 1967 | Joseph Cockshoot Ltd |
| pre 1940 - by 1967 | Bristol Motor Company Ltd |
| c1928 - by 1968 | Lendrum and Hartman Ltd |
| - by 1968 | Albany Travel Ltd |
| 1960 - by 1969 | Albany Freight Ltd |
| - 1969 | Controlled Cost Motoring Ltd |
| - 1969 | County and Rowntree (Scarborough) Ltd |
| 1969 | The Westover Garages Ltd |
| - 1969 | Hall Garage Ltd |
| - by 1969 | Mead of Maidenhead Ltd |
| - 1969 | Phoenix Travel Ltd |
| - 1969 | Stour Valley Motor Company Ltd |
| - 1969 | Stour Valley Trucks Ltd |
| by 1969 | Lex Real Estate Ltd |
| - 1970 | Roy Bowles Packing Ltd |
| - 1970 | Ray Bowles Transport Ltd |
| - 1970 | Ray Bowles Handling Ltd |
| - 1970 | Pondust Ltd |
| - 1970 | Steels of Bath Ltd |
| 1924 - 1970 | W T Richards (Bexleyheath) Ltd |
| - by 1970 | Coventry & Jeff's Ltd |
| 1970 | Lex Property Company Ltd |
| by 1971 - 1972 | Wilkinson's Transport Group Ltd |
| pre 1970 - 1972 | Lex Hotels Ltd |
| - by 1973 | Wellsteeds of Newport Ltd |
| - by 1973 | City Motor Company (Cardiff) Ltd |
| 1958 - by 1973 | Volvo Concessions Ltd |
| 1949 - by 1973 | Lex Brooklands Ltd |
| 1957 - by 1973 | Autoclean (Merchandising) Ltd |
| - by 1973 | Lex (William St.) Ltd (operating in West Germany) |
| 1960 - by 1973 | Lex Tillotson Ltd |
| by 1973 | Lex Commercials (Fleet Marketing) Ltd |
| by 1973 | Albany Israel Freight Ltd (operating in Israel) |
| - by 1973 | Meshoulam Bros. Ltd (operating in Israel) |
| pre 1959 - by 1973 | Harvey Plant Holdings Ltd |
| by 1973 | Lex Services Group (Properties) Ltd |
| by 1977 | Lex Personnel Services Ltd |
| by 1977 | Lex Concessionaires Ltd |
| - by 1977 | Volvo BC Concessionaires Ltd |
| 1913 - by 1977 | Lex Motor Company Ltd |
| by 1977 | Lex Hire and Leasing Ltd |
| 1961 - by 1977 | Harvey Plant Ltd |
| 1955 - by 1977 | Lex Vehicle Leasing Ltd |
| by 1977 | Lex Freight and Transport Ltd |
| 1976 - by 1977 | Intermove International (1976) Ltd |
| - by 1977 | Burlington Israel Ltd |
| 1954 - by 1977 | Bees Transport Ltd |
| 1936 - by 1977 | Albany Foremost Travel Ltd |
| - by 1977 | Sellers & Batty (Peterborough) Ltd |
| - by 1977 | S.A. Commercials Ltd |
| pre 1971 - by 1977 | The Carlton Tower Ltd |
| by 1977 | Lex Hotels UK Ltd |
| by 1977 | Lex Hotels Inc. |
| pre 1972 - by 1977 | Lex Hotels (Baltimore) |
| pre 1972 - by 1977 | Lex Hotels (Chicago) |
| pre 1973 - by 1977 | Lex Hotels (Houston) Inc. |
| by 1977 | The Royal Orleans Inc. |
| pre 1972 - by 1977 | Silcede Properties Ltd |
| 1967 - by 1977 | Lex Hotels (Stratford-upon-Avon) Ltd |
| - until 1978 | Harvey Furnace Contractors Ltd |
| - by 1981 | Carpet Express |
| - by 1981 | Chanslor & Lyon |
| - by 1981 | Motor Rim & Wheel Service |
| - by 1981 | Impulse Electronics Ltd |
| c1977 - by 1981 | Jermyn GmbH (West Germany) |
| - by 1981 | Prosystem Systeme und Gerate Vertiebs GmbH (West Germany) |
| - by 1981 | Panel Electronic Vertriebs GmbH (West Germany) |
| c1977 - by 1981 | Jermyn SA / Lex Electronics SA (France) |
| - by 1981 | Lex Logisticon Ltd |
| - by 1981 | Hawke Electronics |
| 1913 - by 1981 | Lex Mead Ltd |
| 1947 - by 1981 | Lex Vehicle Engineering Ltd |
| - by 1981 | Harvey Fork Truck Hire Ltd |
| - by 1983 | Gilldale Ltd |
| - by 1983 | Graham Motors (SNM) Ltd |
| 1977 - by 1983 | Hyundai Car (UK) Ltd |
| - by 1983 | Hyundai Finance Holdings (UK) Ltd |
| - by 1983 | Seltra (SA) France |
| - by 1983 | SNM Cars Ltd |
| - by 1983 | Specialist Cars (SNM) Ltd |
| - by 1983 | Target Motors (SNM) Ltd |
| 1979 - 1999 | RAC Motoring Services |
| - 2001 | Auto Windscreens |
* Please note the first date given is the date of the establishment of the company and the second date is the date the company was acquired or became a subsidiary. Where only one date is given the company was established as a subsidiary of the parent company. Where one date is preceded by a hyphen the date of the establishment of the company is not known.
Head office premises
| Year | Address |
|---|---|
| 1928 - 1931 | Stafford House, King William Street, London |
| 1931 - 1959 | 2 Lexington Street, London |
| 1959 - 1964 | 3-6 Alfred Place, London |
| by 1966 | 18 Great Marlborough Street, London |
| by 1973 | Lex House, 5 Burlington Gardens, London |
| 1978 - 1980 by least | 17 Great Cumberland Place |
| 1985 - | Lex House, 17 Connaught Place, London |
Staff and officials
Secretary
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1928 - 1933 | H R B Johnson |
| 1933 - 1936 | S E Braithwaite |
| 1936 - 1971 | Edwin Candish Marsden |
| 1971 - 1972 | Phillip George Gollop |
| 1972 - 1990 | Ian Richard Wightwick |
| 1990 - 1994 | Charles Bruce Arthur Cormick |
| 1994 - 1995 | Peter Harris |
| 1995 - | Mark Young Lees |
| 2000 - | Pamela Coles |
Chief Executive
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1986 - | Trevor Edwin Chinn |
Directors (1928)
- Sir Alan Hughes Bwgoyne M.P.
- Lt. Col. Ernest Albert Rose C.B.E
- John Goodenday
- Reginald David Morrison
- Maurice Voss
- Lewis Ingham
- Ernest Terry
In the archives
The Aviva archive contains records relating to the running of RAC between 1966 and 2002. The collection includes print specimen guard books, press cuttings, committee minute books and annual general meeting minutes.
Further resources
Visit the RAC archive for material relating to the history of the Royal Automobile Club.
