Transitivity is not a (big) restriction on homotopy types

For every simplicial complex K there exists a vertex-transitive simplicial complex homotopy equivalent to a wedge of copies of K with some copies of the circle. It follows that every simplicial complex can occur as a homotopy wedge summand in some vertex-transitive complex. One can even demand that the vertex-transitive complex is the clique complex of a Cayley graph or that it is facet-transitive.