Our History

1875: George Thurlow set up in business in Stowmarket as an oil merchant and engineer. From these humble beginnings, the Company moved into the supply of steam engines and threshing tackle, then agricultural machinery, to become one of the country’s leading distributors.

1968: John Thurlow (George Thurlow's great grandson), took over the running of the business when his father died.

1970: George Thurlow & Sons Ltd merged with their neighbouring Massey-Ferguson dealer, F J Nunn and became Thurlow Nunn & Sons Ltd.

1982: The Company purchased a small interest in a Vauxhall garage in Stowmarket which became the starting point for the Thurlow Nunn vehicle dealerships.

1985: Thurlow Nunn & Sons Ltd purchased F A Standen & Sons Ltd and formed Thurlow Nunn Standen Ltd. Today, the Agricultural Division operates as Thurlow Nunn Standen Ltd (known as TNS) and the Vehicle Division operates as Thurlow Nunn Limited. All companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of Thurlow Nunn (Holdings) Ltd.

1989: The company purchased a Vauxhall garage in Dereham and this led to a major investment in the General Motors franchise.

1998: A garage in Holt was purchased which includes a body shop, car wash and forecourt.

2000: The newly built Fakenham garage opened its doors.

2001: The King's Lynn site was acquired.

2004: The Wisbech site was built during 2004 and opened its doors in January 2005.

2005: The Company acquired a group of dealerships in Great Yarmouth, Beccles, Diss and Norwich, almost doubling the size of the vehicle division.

2012: Two further Vauxhall dealerships in Norwich were purchased. (The Agricultural Division also expanded in 2012 when it acquired Randell Norfolk Farm Machinery).

2014: The Milton Keynes dealership was built during the latter part of 2013 and opened its doors in January 2014.

2015: The latest acquisitions of two dealerships and an aftersales centre in Luton and Dunstable.

2019: Thurlow Nunn becomes multi-franchised with the introduction of Peugeot to the Kings Lynn dealership. 

In the same year, the first Thurlow Nunn Approved site was opened in Great Yarmouth.

2020: Distrigo Parts Distribution centre opened in Norwich.

2023: A further brand in MG was added to the site at King’s Lynn.

2024: The business extends it’s relationship with Peugeot, adding a showroom to the existing Norwich Hall Road site.

The Lowestoft dealership was purchased and from this acquisition the Hyundai franchise has been added to the Thurlow Nunn brand portfolio.

The Vehicle Division trades as Thurlow Nunn and operates from 11 locations in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire, making it one of the largest Vauxhall retailers in the UK.

The Agricultural Division trades as Thurlow Nunn Standen Ltd (TNS) and is one of the leading Massey-Ferguson distributors in Europe. TNS operates from 5 branches in East Anglia: Littleport in Cambs, Kennett and Melton in Suffolk and Attleborough and Fakenham in Norfolk.

TNS also includes the Specialist Installations Division (known as SID) based close to the TNS Kennett branch SID plans and designs agricultural buildings and also manages contracts.

The Thurlow Nunn Group of Companies now employs c. 600 people and operates from 17 sites.