8:41 am, June 19, 2026
Car dealer group Caffyns has slumped to a pre-tax loss, following a decline in new car sales.
The listed retailer has this morning (Jun 19), published its full results via the London Stock Exchange, in which bosses bemoaned ‘significant trading headwinds’.
According to the documents, the firm made a pre-tax loss of £1.72m in the 12 months to the end of March, having previously turned a profit of £246,000.
Turnover also dropped by around 2% to £270.66m – despite aftersales revenues climbing 6% to £32.7m – thanks in part to new car deliveries being down 11% year-on-year.
While used car sales did offer a small ray of positivity, growing 4%, directors say they have still had to take a ‘number of actions to increase order take and reduce costs’.
Writing in the accounts, Simon Caffyn, chief executive, said: ‘We faced significant trading headwinds during the financial year ended 31 March 2026 and have taken a number of actions to increase order take and reduce costs.
‘These actions are delivering improvement.’
Elsewhere, the accounts show that underlying EBITDA fell by more than a third, dropping from £5.64m to £3.61m.
However, despite the struggles, Caffyns’ balance sheet did remain relatively robust, with net bank borrowings reducing from £8.5m to £7.3m during the period. Cash balances also increased to £4.6m and the group ended the year with £6.5m of undrawn banking facilities.
Explaining the difficulties experienced over the past year, bosses pointed to rising inflation, which continued to put pressure on the cost base, with higher wage bills, energy costs and interest rates all weighing on profitability.
They also highlighted increases in National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates as ongoing challenges facing the business.
Despite slipping into the red, the group still paid shareholders £273,000 in ordinary dividends during the year – the equivalent to 10p per share.
Caffyn added: ‘The new car forward-order book is steady, although trading conditions in the early part of the current financial year have remained challenging.
‘We remain confident in the prospects of the company and are ready to benefit from future business opportunities.’
