Paul Gibbons did not get where he is today without identifying a good deal and driving a hard bargain to boot.

So in 2002, when prestigious golf club the Oxfordshire went into liquidation, he threw his hat into the ring by making an offer — £5m take it or leave it.

The liquidators left it but when another offer looked like it was going to take a long time to materialise, they beat a path back to Mr Gibbons’ door and the deal was done.

While £5m is no small sum, consider that it cost the previous owners, Japanese firms Nitto Albion and Nitto (Oxfordshire) £27.5m to develop, then that is good business by anyone’s reckoning.

Mr Gibbons, 63, is owner of Leaderboard Golf which owns four courses in the south of England including the Oxfordshire at Milton Common, near Thame.

But for many years he, along with John Madejski, were the driving forces behind the hugely successful Autotrader magazine.

The duo met on the Reading Evening Post selling advertising space and when Mr Madejski saw a magazine in the United States selling cars with pictures, he decided there was a gap in the UK market.

They decided to set up in business together launching the Thames Valley Trader, which advertised everything from jewellery to boats. Mr Gibbons remembers the first issue had a picture of an aeroplane on the front cover which, of course, was for sale.

The magazine benefited from industrial unrest in the newspaper industry in the late 1970s and in 1982 it went national, partnering with the Guardian Media Group and becoming Autotrader.

The business, Hurst Publishing, then went international, expanding into Italy, France and Austria which was as remarkable as it sounds.

Mr Gibbons said: “If someone had told me when we started that I would be dealing with managing directors, lawyers and accountants, then I would have laughed.

“But we grew into it and developed and once we achieved a certain level of success we started to believe we knew what we were talking about.”

Mr Gibbons said money was not the main motivator for running the business but rather a chance to be his own man and create success on the back of his own efforts.

Of course the money came when Autotrader was sold in 1998 for £260m. The question was what to do next.

While Mr Madejski indulged his love of football by becoming chairman of Reading Football Club, Mr Gibbons, a passionate golfer, was tipped off when the Sandford Springs course in Hampshire came for sale.

“I talked to my wife Jennifer and agreed to have a look at it and then I met my accountant who said there was 40 per cent tax relief on investments in golf courses at the time.

“Jennifer said I needed something to do and and so I said to her let’s do it together.’ “I would look after the business side and the golf course, and she would oversee the interiors and the clubhouse.”

Now Leaderboard owns Dale Hill in Sussex and Chart Hills in Kent, as well as the Oxfordshire where a new £7m hotel and spa has just been added to the facilities.

The 50-bedroom four star facility includes four suites and all the decor and fittings have been designed and chosen by Mrs Gibbons.

It includes a new fitness centre and pool, as well as the Sakura restaurant which retains a Japanese chef who is able to cater for many of his countrymen who have retained their membership and visit regulalrly.

But you do not have to be a member to play at the Oxfordshire. The membership of just under 500 has exclusive access to the course before 11am, but visitors and hotel guests can use it after that for a green fee. There is also a large, blue chip corporate clientelle using the conferencing facilities, and delegates can relax on the golf course or in the spa.

In fact, visitors to the Oxfordshire do not have to play golf at all, and can simply go for a walk in the beautiful surrounding countryside.

But as a course, the Oxfordshire boasts two of the top 500 holes in the world — according to a poll in Golf magazine — and Mr Gibbons believes it can host a major championship, just as it did with the Benson and Hedges Open in the 1990s.

Plans are also in place to develop a new championship-standard nine-hole course and Mr Gibbons also allows all under-18s to join the Oxfordshire free.

Clearly Mr Gibbons is enjoying himself as much as some of his clientelle, which ranges from local people to celebrities.

He said: “I must admit golf has not been as profitable as Autotrader but it is a far nicer business to be involved in, as you meet such lovely people.”