WHEN he takes a rare holiday, Chris McMahon admits to spending his time in the sun thumbing through car magazines, unable to completely tear himself away from an industry which he has been part of since long before he was old enough to get behind the wheel himself.

As managing director of Leven Car Company, Mr McMahon has the tough job of buying and selling six-figure cars to discerning buyers from across Scotland.

The story of Leven begins when his father Hugh McMahon grew Lomond Audi to four sites before selling to UK-wide operator Lookers for £15 million in 2012.

While his father was reluctant about that sale, his son was more keen. “I felt the mass market was getting huge pressure on numbers,” he says. “We were selling 9,000 cars a year in the end and you can’t meet 9,000 customers, so that brought us challenges.”

This focus on customer service is a recurring theme with Mr McMahon. His philosophy is that every customer is a “friend of the business”, and that is only really possible with low volume.

Low volume necessities high numbers however, and so two patient years later, when the McMahons discovered Edinburgh trader John Martin was looking to offload his Murray Motor Company – Scotland’s only Aston Martin and Rolls Royce dealer – they jumped at the chance.

“Most of the luxury dealerships are owned by big companies, so these opportunities don’t come round too often,” says Mr McMahon, who found himself making the leap from car salesman to business owner.

He is joined on the board by his father and Brian Ritchie, finance director – who had been with the family at Lomond Audi.

The name of the business was quickly changed to Leven Car Company to reflect its new ownership. “My mum came up with it,” says Mr McMahon. “The old business was Lomond, and Leven is the river that flows from Loch Lomond.”

He says that in the two and half years since they took over things have “progressed very well”.

Four times as many cars are being sold as when they inherited the business, and staff numbers have doubled to more than 30.

“Things are changing pretty dramatically but we think there’s a long way to go which is why we’re investing in the business,” he says.

That investment involved the purchase of a second site, which opened last month as a supercar showroom. And by the end of the year, the Rolls Royce dealership will have moved to the new outlet, allowing for an expansion of the existing Aston Martin showroom.

And with the UK carmaker announcing it will launch a new model ever year for the next five years – starting with this year’s DB11 – the timing couldn’t be better. 28 DB11s have been pre-sold, while the newly launched £265,000 Rolls Royce Dawn will help lead the new showroom.

The showroom is built into its natural environment, allowing it to be split on two levels, with the area to rear afforded stunning views of Murrayfield Stadium. When upgrade works are complete, an air of luxury should be easily attained.

And so it should be. Cars being sold range from £40,000 to an eye-watering £400,000. Recent deals have included a set of three Ferraris for £950,000.

It is these pre-owned sales are driving growth at the business. Mr McMahon estimates that in 2016 the company will sell 100 new cars and 300 pre-owned.

That’s enough to grow sales to £30m this year. “Next year we’ll be looking to make that 130 new cars and 440 pre-owned with the new site,” he says.

“It’s about building relationships with these people so they come back to us. If they deal with us once, it’s easier for them to buy again from us.

“So we now stock a range of cars that our Rolls Royces and Aston Martins customers will enjoy. They’ll be drawn to a Bentley, a Ferrari, a Lamborghini; we try to stock interesting cars – something we’d want a go of ourselves.”

One recent customer was Kilmarnock owner Billy Bowie – who requested a Rolls Royce in the same colour as the distinctive yellow trucks in his waste management business. Rolls Royce duly spent months developing the colour, which Mr Bowie alone is allowed to use.

“Rolls Royce shared it on Instagram and Facebook and it was their most liked picture ever,” says a clearly delighted Mr McMahon. “And that’s a self-made Scot. A lot of real success stories come through the door.”

Looking ahead and Mr McMahon says he wants the new showroom to become a well-known destination for anyone who wants to buy – or even look at – exceptional cars.

Pushing into Glasgow is a major focus for the business after the downturn in Aberdeen impacted sales. “We want it to add volume and ultimately profit to the business,” he adds. “We’re a young business, we want to build a great business, so we’re not going to make a huge amount but we’ll have invested a huge amount, developed a huge amount.”

Of course, as avid car fans themselves, father and son still have the odd heated debates over their stock. “Our Aston Martin DB11 demonstrator arrives in November so there will be a fight for the keys with my Dad and I on who takes that home,” says Mr McMahon. “He’ll probably win.”