Luxury car dealer HR Owen is to begin trading on Sundays for the first time in its 80-year history.

All its 15 dealerships, including its flagship Jack Barclay showroom in London, will open on Sundays, starting from August 31.

The company said it is using a mix of existing staff and temporary staff that have worked with it on HR Owen events this summer.

"We are currently taking on additional sales staff to support Sunday opening and a general expansion of business and would welcome applications through our academy programme," said a spokeswoman.

The new opening hours are a response to changing customer expectations.

“Our customers lead busy lives and we know from talking to them that Sunday is often the only day when they have more time for the fun stuff – like taking a look at the latest fabulous cars”, said marketing and customer director Chris Harris.

“We’ll be offering great Nespresso coffee and croissants to go, but we’re sure customers will want to linger and chat to our team about the cars on offer.”

On Sunday most sites are open from 11am-5pm, with a few from 10am-4pm, he said. 

HR Owen's franchises include Bentley, Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce.