9:48 am, June 18, 2026
Specialist Ford dealer Foray Motor Group has seen its profits dip in a year which saw the firm sold to its employees.
The ownership of the Wiltshire retailer changed hands in November of 2025, with the outfit now under the control of an employee ownership trust (EOT).
The move, which included the sale of properties to a shareholder, was made in order to ‘allow for future succession and growth’.
Now, the firm has published its first set of annual accounts since the sale, showing declines in both profit and turnover.
Documents recently filed via Companies House show that Foray Holdings Limited – the dealer group’s ultimate holding company – made a pre-tax profit of £843,235 in 2025.
That figure is down almost 43% on the previous year’s £1.47m, while turnover also dipped more than 10% to £949,297.
Elsewhere, the firm’s trading company – Foray Motor Group Limited – reported a return on sales of 0.08%, compared to 0.63% in the previous year.
That operation also ended the year with net assets totalling £0.7m, compared to £10.8m in 2024, with the reduction being due to transactions relating to the sale of the company to the EOТ.
Meanwhile, the firm – which also trades under the name ‘Edwards Ford’ – had to contend with a shrinking product line-up from Ford, although this was eased by an improved BEV offering and additional assistance from the government’s Electric Car Grant.
Reflecting on the year in the accounts, director Simon Moulton said: ‘The company’s principal activity is the operation of Ford franchised motor dealerships. The ownership of the company transitioned to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), completing in November 2025.
‘The profit was reduced by the costs incurred transitioning to the EOT. As part of this transaction the freehold property was sold to the previous shareholder and the inter-company debt owed from the previous parent company, Foray Holdings Limited was settled.’
He added: ‘During the year the more limited new passenger car range delivered modest growth on the previous year, primarily with the increasing adoption of electric vehicles.
‘The BEV offering from Ford improved throughout 2025 with the successful launch of Puma Gen-E which qualified for the higher level Govemment grant of £3,750.
‘In addition, the fleet volume of new commercial vehicles improved significantly due to some additional fleet customers and greater stock availability which also in turn put some pressure on margin.
‘The used vehicle market was challenging in 2025, this was reflected in our sales volume performance.
‘We stopped retailing used commercial vehicles from our Southampton location to focus on our core used vehicle retail locations, with Southampton consolidating as an aftersales facility.
‘Accident Repair encountered a downturn in the year due to reduced insurance referrals in the sector, controlled expenses kept the department profitable.’
Elsewhere in the accounts, it is revealed that the dealer group spent £14.97m on employee costs, up on the previous year’s £14.23m, despite the workforce going from an average of 399 to 390.
At the same time, directors remunerations went from £1.07m to £1.27m, with the highest paid director pocketing a slightly reduced £395,927.
During the year, the holding company paid interim dividends of £1.65m to ordinary shareholders but directors did not recommend the payment of a final dividend.
