2:27 pm, September 21, 2026
Endeavour Automotive has revealed that its new car sales fell by 650 units in the first half of 2026, as the dealer group battles increasingly difficult trading conditions.
The business, which represents brands including Volvo, Hyundai, Polestar, Lotus, Omoda and Jaecoo, says the decline in sales has come alongside a squeeze on used car margins, forcing bosses to make changes to the firm’s senior leadership team.
The admission comes in the dealer group’s latest annual accounts, which show that turnover climbed by 16% to £277.2m in 2025, despite pre-tax profits falling to just £222,026.
Directors say that the second half of last year proved more challenging for the business, with those difficulties continuing into 2026.
The group has now warned that it expects the full year to be tougher than previously anticipated, although bosses remain hopeful that recent changes will help turn things around.
In a strategic report accompanying the accounts, directors said: ‘The second half of 2025 proved more challenging for the group, and these significant trading headwinds continued into 2026.
‘The group reacted to this by making structural changes across the senior leadership team, in order to build a more resilient business that can evolve in line with the challenges of a moving market and transformative sector.’
They added: ‘Whilst we expect these changes to have a positive impact in the latter half of 2026 and continued positive momentum into 2027 and beyond, the expectation for the full year will be more challenged due to the difficult start.
‘This will be most significant across the sales channels which have seen a fall in new units of 650 at the half year, and used profitability declining as margins have been squeezed.’
Despite the difficulties, Endeavour says its aftersales business has continued to perform well, with profitability increasing by 4% year on year during the first half of 2026.
Directors also expect the group to end the year with positive EBITDA and have confirmed that the business renewed its financing arrangements with HSBC earlier this year.
The challenging start to 2026 follows a period of growth for Endeavour, which increased new car sales volumes by 17% during 2025, while used car volumes rose by 26%.
The group’s latest accounts, for the year ended December 31, 2025, show that revenue increased from £238.1m to £277.2m.
Operating profit also improved by 26.5%, climbing from £3.06m to £3.87m, while normalised EBITDA rose from £6.14m to £6.25m.
However, the increase in turnover failed to translate into higher pre-tax profits, which slipped from £255,816 to £222,026.
One of the main factors behind the decline was a sharp increase in financing costs, with interest payable and similar expenses rising by 30% from £2.80m to £3.65m.
Endeavour says the increase was partly driven by the need to hold more wholesale stock across its Lotus dealerships following the manufacturer’s decision to move away from its direct-to-consumer sales model.
The group also faced higher operating costs during the year, including increases to employers’ National Insurance contributions and the National Living Wage.
Despite the pressure on pre-tax profits, Endeavour’s bottom-line profit after tax increased from £75,212 to £110,575.
The group’s average workforce also grew from 412 to 436 employees during the year, while bosses continued to invest in dealership facilities and internal systems.
Looking ahead, directors say they remain confident in the group’s prospects and believe the business is now better placed to respond to changing market conditions.
They added: ‘The directors remain confident in the prospects of the company going forward and are now geared to take advantage of all future business opportunities.’