Wikipedia

Draft:Chandlers Farm Equipment Ltd

  • Comment: I speedy deleted Draft:Chandlers Farm Equipment Ltd two days ago as a tagged G11. I was approached on my talk by a new user self-reporting as managing director of the company asking for restoration. I spent an hour on Newspapers.com to find some Lincolnshire news coverage but everything I found was advertisement. I did not respond to that request. Hence this temp account draft. I expected a 90 years-old company name to have some media about it, but I couldn't find anything. If this is the best coverage the managing director of the company can find and provide, I can't see a draft being approved. BusterD (talk) 14:00, 8 December 2025 (UTC)
  • Comment: Majority of the references provided are from the company's own website. Require WP:RS and WP:IS sources for verifiability. Please refer to WP:YFA and WP:BETTER for guidance on drafting an article and to WP:REFB for instructions on formatting references correctly. QEnigma 论 01:48, 6 December 2025 (UTC)
  • Comment: Sources are primary, fail sigcov, or both. See WP:GNG for what sources are needed. Fermiboson (talk) 00:31, 6 December 2025 (UTC)
Chandlers Farm Equipment Ltd
Company type
Private
IndustryAgricultural machinery dealerships
Founded1935
FounderDesmond Chandler
HeadquartersGrantham, Lincolnshire, England
Number of locations
16 (2025)
Number of employees
425+
Websitewww.chandlers.co.uk

Chandlers Farm Equipment Ltd

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Chandlers Farm Equipment Ltd is a British agricultural machinery dealership headquartered in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1935, the company has grown from a small agricultural engineering business into one of the United Kingdom’s largest multi-brand agricultural equipment dealerships, representing major global manufacturers including Massey Ferguson, Fendt, Valtra and JCB.

History

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Chandlers was founded in 1935 by Desmond Chandler as a small agricultural engineering business serving farms around Grantham. In the 1940s Des Chandler entered into partnership with colleagues Joe Pell and Tom Caunt, who had worked with him since the opening of the business in May 1935.

Following World War II the company expanded in step with wider agricultural mechanisation across the United Kingdom. After Massey Ferguson became part of AGCO in 1995, Chandlers began representing AGCO brands including Fendt and Valtra.[1]

Des Chandler retired in 1959, leaving the business to Joe Pell and Tom Caunt. The company later adopted its present form when it was incorporated as Chandlers (Farm Equipment) Ltd in 1982.[2]

Throughout the late 20th century the dealership expanded through new depots and acquisitions. Notable transactions include the purchase of West Tractors (1970), TMS in Melton Mowbray (1989), Boston Tractors (2001), and Lodgeway Tractors (2014).

In 2021 Chandlers acquired the agricultural division of Lister Wilder. Independent industry coverage described the deal as significantly expanding the company’s AGCO territory across central and southern England.[3] Farmers Guide similarly reported the transaction as substantial consolidation within the agricultural machinery dealership sector.[4]

In 2023 the company acquired Ross Farm Machinery (RFM), expanding operations into the West Midlands and South West.[5]

Chandlers marked its 90th anniversary in 2025. The company is headed by Managing Director Gavin Pell, appointed as a director in 2015 according to Companies House filings,[6] who also serves on the council of the national trade body BAGMA.[7][8]

Growth and rankings

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Independent business rankings have identified Chandlers as a major regional employer and one of the fastest-growing large companies in the East Midlands. Grant Thornton’s East Midlands Top 200 report ranked Chandlers 87th in 2019[9] and 177th in the 2025 edition.[10]

A 2024 summary of the rankings published by WorkBoom listed Chandlers as one of 36 Lincolnshire companies included in the Top 200 report.[11]

Insider Media’s Midlands Family Top 50 (2025) ranked the company 50th among the region’s largest family-owned businesses, reporting turnover of £184.9 million.[12]

Operations

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Chandlers supplies agricultural machinery including tractors, combine harvesters, balers, cultivation equipment, groundcare machinery, forestry equipment and trailers. Additional services include OEM-authorised repairs, breakdown support, parts distribution, used machinery sales, and machinery hire.

Brands represented

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Chandlers is an authorised dealer for several major machinery manufacturers including Massey Ferguson, Fendt, Valtra and JCB. Industry reports identify the company as one of the UK’s largest dealership groups by turnover in multi-brand farm machinery retailing.[13]

Locations

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As of 2025 Chandlers operates sixteen depots in England and Wales, in chronological order of acquisition:

  • Belton (Grantham)
  • Horncastle
  • Spilsby
  • Holbeach
  • Barnack (Stamford)
  • Lutterworth
  • Shefford
  • Wallingford
  • Cirencester
  • Devizes
  • Bristol
  • Southam
  • Ross-on-Wye
  • Martley
  • Raglan
  • Bridgnorth

Notable activities

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  • Apprenticeship programme – Chandlers trains agricultural engineering apprentices in partnership with several engineering colleges. Its apprenticeship scheme has been profiled in industry press for addressing skills shortages in the agricultural machinery sector.[14]
  • Used machinery business – Industry publications describe Chandlers as one of the larger dealership groups in the UK used farm machinery market.[15][16]
  • Agricultural shows – Chandlers regularly exhibits at the Midlands Machinery Show, with the organisers noting the company’s long-standing participation,[17] and industry press reporting on its machinery displays.[18][19] Chandlers has also appeared as a machinery exhibitor at the Lincolnshire Show, organised by the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society.[20]

Corporate structure

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Chandlers (Farm Equipment) Ltd is a privately owned limited company registered in England and Wales.[21] It is managed by a board of directors and employs more than 425 staff. Independent deal summaries have described the company as one of the largest AGCO-aligned dealership groups in the UK.[22]

Images

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References

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  1. ↑ "Find a Dealer". AGCO. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  2. ↑ "CHANDLERS (FARM EQUIPMENT) LIMITED". Companies House. UK Government. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  3. ↑ "Chandlers acquires Lister Wilder to double AGCO territory". Farmers Weekly. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  4. ↑ "Chandlers merges with Lister Wilder AGCO business". Farmers Guide. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  5. ↑ "Dealer update: Chandlers and Ross Farm Machinery join forces". Farmers Weekly. 3 January 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  6. ↑ "CHANDLERS (FARM EQUIPMENT) LIMITED – Officers". Companies House. UK Government. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  7. ↑ "BAGMA Councillors". BAGMA. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  8. ↑ "BAGMA Bulletin Magazine July–August 2024 – Chandlers interview". BAGMA. August 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  9. ↑ East Midlands Top 200 2019 (PDF) (Report). Grant Thornton UK LLP. 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  10. ↑ East Midlands Top 200 2025 (PDF) (Report). Grant Thornton UK LLP. 2025. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  11. ↑ "36 Lincolnshire companies ranked fastest-growing in the East Midlands". WorkBoom. 28 January 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  12. ↑ "Midlands Family Top 50 (2025)". Insider Media. 25 July 2025. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  13. ↑ "Britain's biggest machinery dealers ranked by turnover". Farmers Weekly. 8 March 2025. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  14. ↑ "Analysis: How hiring apprentices helps solve labour problem". Farmers Weekly. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  15. ↑ "AGCO dealers announce merger". Farm Contractor. 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  16. ↑ "Chandlers merges with Lister Wilder AGCO business". Farmers Guide. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  17. ↑ "One-day format to take Midlands Machinery Show into the future". Midlands Machinery Show. Newark & Nottinghamshire Agricultural Society. 12 November 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  18. ↑ "Two new tractors make Midlands Machinery Show debut". Midland Farmer. 14 November 2025. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  19. ↑ "Machinery, innovations and live demos take centre stage at Midlands Machinery Show 2025". BAGMA. 14 November 2025. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  20. ↑ "Lincolnshire Show". Lincolnshire Agricultural Society. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  21. ↑ "CHANDLERS (FARM EQUIPMENT) LIMITED". Companies House. UK Government. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  22. ↑ "Farm equipment specialist acquires industry counterpart, doubling operations". PKF Smith Cooper. 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2025.

See also

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