2025: The 50th Anniversary of Nunns of Grimsby
There’s nothing like a big celebration and here at Nunns, 2025 is a year that’s well worth a toast. This year marks our 50th anniversary, heralding a big milestone for our company that first opened in 1975 as a used car destination right in the heart of Grimsby.
Nunns continues to offer a wide range of vehicles alongside servicing and finance. We’re going to take a small trip down memory lane to see just how we made it to 50 years.
A Solid Foundation
Back in 1975, Nunns of Grimsby was founded by brothers Michael and Stephen Nunn with a little help from their father Jimmy Nunn, a former trawler skipper and owner who held a key place within Grimsby’s thriving fishing industry of the time.
Both Michael and Stephen had gained extensive motor trade experience before starting Nunns, having worked for several local dealerships within the Grimsby area. However, at the respective ages of 21 and 24, Michael and Stephen decided to break out and go it alone, establishing a used car site on the corner of Armstrong Street and Rendel Street in Grimsby. Before long, the pair extended the 5-car showroom and built a 2-bay workshop before taking on their first new-car franchise, known at the time as Polski Fiat.
Family Business
We’ve never lost sight of that family touch here at Nunns. Today, we remain a family-run dealership, with Michael’s sons Paul and Chris now pushing the business forward alongside a fully experienced management team which includes Martin Thompson, Carl Jenney and Paul Scrivens who have all been with the business for many years. We have established a committed and professional business that works both for Grimsby and the rest of the country.
Key Partnerships
This year marks a continuation of several partnerships with key vehicle manufacturers. In fact, 2025 is the 33rd consecutive year that we’ve represented Mazda in Grimsby, having taken over the franchise on Louth Road in Scartho in 1992. In 1995 we moved the Mazda showroom to a new facility on Hewitts Avenue in Humberston, before building a larger premises on the same site in 2000 which is where we operate from today.
Of course, that isn’t the only partnership that we’ve established over the years. We’re proud to have represented Mitsubishi for 45 years, initially in 1980 from our Rendell Street site in Grimsby town centre before moving the showroom to sit alongside Mazda in Humberston in 2000. In recent years further additions have come in the form of Isuzu and Subaru, which joined our ranks in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Modern Offerings
Today, in its 50th year, Nunns offers more services than ever before. Alongside new vehicles from Mazda, Subaru, and Isuzu, we sell a range of used cars from some brands, and we provide full servicing and aftersales facilities that ensure your car is cared for even after it has rolled away from the forecourt. We’ve got access to all the right servicing technology to diagnose and fix a problem while our extensive parts supply means that we’ll always have the correct replacement for your car.
Alongside our servicing facilities, we also provide a full suite of finance packages with Hire Purchase, Personal Contract Purchase or Contract Hire options to choose from as a way to get you behind the wheel of a new car for less.
Award-winning Business
Today, Nunns continues to operate from its well-known Hewitts Avenue location, with shoppers praising our ‘old style customer care’ and ‘excellent customer service’ via our online testimonials page.
We were also honoured to be crowned the Mazda Dealer of the Year in 2023 and 2024, with our dealership performance, customer loyalty and customer satisfaction contributing to the result that saw us come out on top, ahead of other Mazda retailers across the UK.
This commitment to award-winning service has seen us through the last 50 years and will do so for many years to come.
On reaching the 50 year landmark, founder and owner Michael Nunn commented, “I’m so proud to be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Nunns in 2025. We’ve come a long way since our humble beginnings in 1975 when myself and my brother Steve opened our used car operation in Grimsby town centre. As well as huge amounts of hard work, the success and longevity of the business has been built on the commitment of our team members past and present, great working relationships with our manufacturer partners and the continued loyalty of our wonderful customers. It pleases me greatly that so many of our team and customers have been with us for many years – keeping our staff and customers happy has always been at the forefront of what we do. Our aim has always been to deliver excellent, personable customer service and to make buying and owning a vehicle as simple as possible. I’m delighted the business remains successfully family owned and run, something that is becoming less and less common in our industry. Thank you to everyone that has supported us during our 50 years, and we look forward to many more successful years to come.”
