8:55 am, September 23, 2025
Car dealer Lookers has returned to profit in a year which was dominated by job losses and cost-cutting measures across the business.
The group made headlines throughout 2024, with insiders accusing bosses of overseeing ‘back street garage conditions’ amid major cuts in staff.
Christmas parties were scrapped for the second year running with disgruntled employees saying that the dealer group was going ‘from bad to worse’ under its new Canadian ownership.
Now however, things finally appear to be looking up for the firm after a difficult period, which included making a £1.8m loss in 2023.
Accounts recently filed via Companies House show that Lookers Limited made a pre-tax profit of £43.7m in 2024 – a whopping rise of 2,527.7%.
The result came despite a drop in revenue, with income decreasing from £4.49bn to £4.29bn. The firm previously reported turnover of £4.59bn in 2023 but has now amended the figure after changing the way it calculates revenue from insurance and warranty sales.
Elsewhere, new vehicle revenue dipped by 0.7%, despite a 3% rise in sales to 96,819 units. At the same time, used vehicle sales fell 7% to 74,996 units.
When it came to the much-publicised cuts, Lookers’ average workforce fell from 490 to 394 throughout 2024, resulting in a year-on-year saving of £17.3m on wages and salaries across the group.
Once pensions and social security costs were thrown into the mix, group staff costs came in at £277.3m – a £22m saving on the previous year’s £299.3m.
Bosses say that ‘operational efficiency and cost saving initiatives’ led to a reduction in underlying operating costs of £21m, which played a major role in the firm’s return to profitability.
Reflecting on the year, chairman Alex Smith wrote in the accounts: ‘2024 was the first full year since 2019 without the influence of lockdowns or vehicle supply constraints from semiconductor shortages, with such constraints fully easing through the second half of 2023, influencing both new and used vehicle sales prices as we moved into 2024.
‘This, combined with economic pressures dampening consumer confidence, led to an overall reduction in revenue from the prior year of 4.4%.
‘New vehicle volumes grew 3.0%, driven by sales of lower average selling price fleet and Motability vehicles, leading to a slight reduction in new vehicle revenue of 0.6% and a decrease in gross margin from 7.7% to 7.4%.
‘The group’s used vehicle volumes decreased 7.0% against prior year as free supply returned to the new vehicle segment.
‘This, combined with lower average selling prices, led to a reduction in used vehicle revenue of 11.1%. Despite a decrease in average selling price, gross margins remained resilient, increasing from 5.2% to 5.6%.
‘Operational efficiency and cost saving initiatives led to a reduction in underlying operating costs of £21m, which, combined with an increase in gross profit of £2m and increased finance costs of £2m, grew underlying profit before tax compared to prior year by £21m.’
Lookers was taken over by the Canadian outfit, Global Auto Holdings, in October 0f 2023, and the firm has overseen a period of drastic change in the two years since.
As well as major job losses and site closures, 2024 and 2025 have also seen the appointment of a new board of directors, chaired by former VW boss Smith.
The senior leadership team also includes former Inchcape boss James Brearley, who was appointed managing director last summer.
At the end of the period covered by the accounts, Lookers operated 134 trading locations across the UK and Ireland, representing 36 manufacturer brands.
Smith added: ‘The Lookers ambition is to be the number one dealership group in the UK, delivering value for all our stakeholders.
‘The group aims to grow our sales and servicing volumes, deliver strong margins, achieve high customer satisfaction scores and be the partner of choice for our manufacturer partners.
‘A new Executive Management team has been formed through 2024 and 2025 including a new chair appointed in January 2025, managing director (July 2024, board appointed January 2025), chief financial officer (November 2024) and chief information officer (February 2025).
‘In addition, two independent non-executive directors were appointed to the board.
‘This new management team is now focused on building on the momentum achieved through 2024.’
