Career
He finished his education with the Christian Brothers at the age of thirteen to work on the markets full-time, selling fruit, vegetables and other items. In 1956 he worked as a messenger boy at Walden's Ford Dealership and was appointed director general of the company in 1965. He went on to set up the Fairlane Motor Company in Tallaght in 1977 which he developed into the biggest Ford dealership in Ireland by 1981. In 1986 he took over the franchise for Renault car distribution from Waterford Crystal. The initial purchase price of the operation was £1, however the deal entailed taking on a debt burden of £18 million. This company became known as the Glencullen Group and the Renault distribution arm became known as Glencullen Distributors. Turnover of the business grew to €350 Million at its peak, but fell to €4 million loss in 2006, an €18.6 million loss in 2007, and a further loss of €8.2 million in 2008. Prior to the losses, in April 2006 he was awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur by decree of the President of the French Republic for work with Renault Ireland.
Following losses, the Renault operation was taken into direct control by Renault S.A.S in 2006. It now operates as a subsidiary of the parent company. He continues to own Ireland's largest Renault retailer, CityGate Motor Group. It has six dealerships around the country - three of which are in Dublin. He also set up and owns the Europa Academy, a training facility in Swords, north County Dublin.
In October 2012, Cullen's motor-trade business was put into receivership. Cullen was said to be "very sad" at the appointment of receivers to his businesses Glencullen Holdings, which operates dealerships in Swords and Liffey Valley.
He took over the Muckross Park Hotel in Killarney in 1990 with his partner, Jackie Lavin, who is also his business partner. The hotel achieved five-star status in 2007, and - in the same year - ran at losses of €9.4 million.
Read more about this topic: Bill Cullen (businessman)
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