Welcoming all new staff with a bottle of bubbly and a bunch of flowers has helped Sytner Group earn a place in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list.

More than 800 entries were received for the awards, which have been run for three years, and Sytner is the first motor retailer to earn a place.

Mario Vignali, managing director of the Graypaul Nottingham dealership, has been with Sytner for 17 years. He believes staff need to feel valued.

“We don’t pay more than elsewhere,” he says. “It’s about treating people well.”

In their 10th, 20th and 30th years of service, staff get an extra week’s holiday.

The average length of service at the group is four years and Geoffrey Page-Morris, group operations director, has introduced an induction programme for new recruits at which they are “enthused about their role in the company”.

Sytner spends a fifth of its £4m training budget on this venture.

The company was commended for the fact that 79% of its workers say they feel they make a valuable contribution to the firm’s success.