From diesel and Brexit to the profit potential of used cars and aftersales, we asked five AM100 executives to outline the challenges and opportunities in 2018
The publicly listed AM100 groups have taken wide-ranging approaches to debt, acquisitions and turnover targets
Beware of consultants and surveys telling you your business is doomed unless you adopt the next new thing, says Piers Trenear-Thomas
Amid an end to record new car volumes, falling return-on-sales and fewer acquisitions, the AM100 is swinging slowly in the direction of used car sales
Revealed and analysed - the financial performance of the UK's top 100 dealer groups.
JCT600 has reported a 2% rise in turnover to £1.25 billion in the face of “challenging market conditions”, adding that it expects “fierce competition” to continue in the automotive retail sector.
Caffyns has reported a 16% decline in operating profit despite rising revenues in annual results which detail the “very disappointing” performance of its volume car brands in 2017.
Hendy Group has vowed to support its car dealership managers with “individual coaching, mentoring and support” thanks to the launch of a new dedicated management development programme.
Lookers highlighted the “resilience and diversity” of its business model as it outperformed the market with a 4% downturn in new car revenues but growth from used cars and aftersales.
Stoneacre has opened its newly “transformed” Chesterfield Volvo dealership following a 12-month long, multi-million pound redevelopment of the site.
Vertu Motors chief executive Robert Forrester has insisted that he is not under pressure from shareholders to deliver growth through acquisition after reporting reductions of 0.9% in turnover and 9.2% in profits in the group’s annual results.
Marshall Motor Holdings has reported a 19.5% increase in turnover and a 14.4% rise in underlying profit before tax in a set of annual financial results hailed as “excellent” by chief executive Daksh Gupta.
Lookers called on its workforce to “focus on the details” and strive to be “best in brand” in 2018 as the car retail group hosted 600 staff at its annual General Managers’ Conference.
TrustFord gained two places to be named 20th in this year’s Sunday Times 25 Best Big Companies to Work For list in the UK.
TrustFord chairman and chief executive Stuart Foulds is targeting greater immediacy in the car buying process in a bid to “differentiate” the business from its AM100 rivals.
Stratstone marked the completion of a refurbishment at its Park Lane showroom with an official opening carried out by form Manchester United and England footballer Rio Ferdinand.
Stoneacre Motor Group is once again on the “acquisition trail” after securing the whole of Nottingham-based Chris Variava car dealership operation for an undisclosed sum.
Pendragon’s share price has rallied following the publication of full-year financial results revealed the AM100’s second largest retail group had suffered a 19.9% dip in underlying profit before tax.
Motorline has started 2018 with the opening of a £14.5 million car dealership development at Gatwick, featuring Lexus, Hyundai and Peugeot showrooms.
Vertu Motors chief executive Robert Forrester has said that the group will be considering how it can best "deploy capital" to drive growth in 2018 following a trading update which revealed a new car sales decline of 15.7%.
