11:10 am, August 17, 2020
The Car Dealer Top 100 – which will name the most profitable car dealers in the UK for the first time – is set to reveal some fascinating results.
The league table – compiled by Car Dealer in association with ASE Global and sponsored by digital specialists GForces – will pitch franchised dealers against independents for the first time.
Ranking dealers by the figure that matters most – profit – rather than turnover makes the Car Dealer Top 100 totally unique, believes ASE chairman Mike Jones.
Speaking about the list in an exclusive video – which you can watch above – Jones says the list is set to be full of surprises.
He said: ‘The trade is permanently ranked at the moment based on turnover – and turnover isn’t everything in this industry.
‘I think it will be really interesting to combine the non-franchised retailers with the franchised and people can start seeing where the most money in the industry is being made.’
Jones points to the fact some of the large franchised dealer groups have stepped into the used car market with acquisitions or moves of their own.
Jones added: ‘As we move further forwards towards a more agency new car model, franchised retailers are going to have to get bigger and better at used cars in order to balance the books.
‘I think now is the right time to blend the two together in a list, look at who is making the most money and then we can see the league tables come out.’
And Jones is looking forward to seeing who rises to the top.
He said: ‘I think we will absolutely see some surprises.
‘I think some of the people we usually see in the top 10 rankings among automotive retailers will absolutely not be there and it will be interesting when we digest it at the mix, whether it’s franchised up there or some of the non franchised retailers pushing in to the higher echelons which they wouldn’t necessarily do from a turnover point of view.
‘It’s really exciting to see where people should be investing their money.
‘We’re going to see more change in the next five to 10 years than we’ve ever seen and the way we retail new vehicles is going to change fundamentally and people need to be making the decisions as to where they invest their money.
‘And this ranking and assessment of retailers will totally help people do that.’
The Car Dealer Top 100 will take into account results pre-Covid to give a snap shot of where car dealers were before the crisis.
The Top 100 will be based on audited accounts submitted to Companies House for years ended February 28, 2020 and prior and will be ranked using EBITDA.
This will be adjusted for exceptional items presented on the face of the income statement.
The final cut off for car dealer accounts to be considered will be September 30 filed with either Companies House or submitted directly to Car Dealer and ASE Global by that date.
Jones added: ‘We’ll be using last year’s number so it will be all pre-Covid – it’s a case of this is the situation before and we’ll then see in the subsequent years what happened during the Covid period and then who has emerged out the other side.’
Headline sponsor GForces chief executive Giles Smith added: ‘This is the first time there will be no delineation between franchise and independent dealers – they are being measured as singular group of automotive retailers and measured purely on profit.
‘Without doubt, the Car Dealer Top 100 list is going to be fascinating to read.’
Car dealers who would like to be included in the list can ensure they are considered by emailing their accounts by September 30 to [email protected].
The list will be revealed in October.
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