Page 34 - GAP 50th Anniversary Book

Celebrating 50 years of GAP /

Of GAP’s five decades of trading to date, it’s the eighties
which are perhaps the most significant. A key acquisition
and expansion into England triggered a directional shift in
the business, followed by an ambitious 20-year strategy.

By the mid-1980s, Gordon’s younger son
Iain had come on board and the company
1980s
had purchased its first Greenfield depot
on the east coast, in Edinburgh’s Sighthill.
Then, in a decisive moment in GAP’s
history, Gordon signed a deal in March
1986 at the Royal Scottish Automobile
Gordon Anderson signing the deal to acquire Henderson Plant Club in Glasgow to acquire Newcastle
in 1986: Back row left to right: Iain Anderson, John Senior,
Douglas Anderson. Front row left to right: Joe Hewson, based Henderson Plant.
Tony Griffiths, Gordon Anderson, Jim Hobkirk and Robin Gordon.
Almost overnight GAP doubled in size,
increasing from four depots to ten. With
three of the new depots in England, the
acquisition gave GAP its initial presence
south of the border. But equally crucial,
it took GAP into small tools.

Original contract confirming the purchase
of Henderson Plant.
Gordon Anderson in his office in Bath Street, Glasgow, 1995.
34 / Chapter 04