2:29 pm, September 28, 2022
JCT600 delivered its best trading result in its long history last year, with newly published accounts showing turnover rising by 17 per cent to just over £1.3bn.
The family-run dealership group, which represents 25 brands across more than 50 locations in the north of England, said in its accounts for the year ended December 31, 2021 that turnover went up from £1.117bn in 2020 to £1.306bn in 2021.
Pre-tax profit, meanwhile, rose by a whopping 130 per cent from £19.56m in 2020 to £45.05m, and operating profit before amortisation – which it said gave a better indication of the group’s underlying business performance – went up by 88 per cent from £26.2m to £49.2m.
In the accompanying report, group finance director Nigel Shaw hailed the Car Dealer Top 100 company’s ‘excellent performance’, saying it had continued into 2022.
He added that despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the company had fared ‘exceptionally well during the year, outperforming the market to produce its best trading result’.
JCT600, which started out as a garage in Bradford 76 years ago, said improved margins in both new and used vehicle sales led to the group’s gross profit margin increasing from 12 per cent to 12.9 per cent.
Highlights included opening a Porsche Centre in York and buying the freehold for the Mercedes-Benz dealership there.
The ongoing development of a Ferrari showroom in Leeds as well saw it investing a total of £15.2m in premises.
2021 wasn’t without sorrow for the group, though, as founder and chairman Jack Tordoff died aged 86 in October after a long illness, which was acknowledged in the report.
Tordoff was awarded the OBE in 2018 for services to business and the community.
JCT600 claimed £900,000 under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme last year to help towards giving furloughed staff their full pay. In 2020, it received £9.9m in furlough income.
The average monthly number of employees across the group fell from 2,278 in 2020 to 2,137 last year.
Looking ahead, Shaw said: ‘While the impact of continued semiconductor shortages and the war in Ukraine is difficult to predict, the directors’ current forecasts for the full-year results are encouraging, with a healthy profit contribution expected.’
He added: ‘Maintaining strong and effective relationships with our manufacturers and customers is critical to the success of the group.’
