Mark Squires, former Benfield Motors chief executive, has returned to a family business after becoming a new partner at the architecture practice co-founded by his wife Louise.

Squires (pictured) was family-run Benfield’s chief executive until he and other family members sold it to Lookers last year.

Now he has become a partner at architects Squires Barnett.

Squires told the Chronicle newspaper: “My role is to bring a new level of business planning and development and fresh ideas in practice management to the partnership. Just like my former business, the mission is to focus on being the best we can be at what we do.

“The practice already has a deserved strong reputation for appealing design schemes which are well conceived and respond clearly to the client’s brief and the needs of end users for pleasing and practical spaces and buildings. We want to build on these foundations without extending ourselves by becoming too big."