11:37 am, April 25, 2023
Dealer group Brayleys Cars saw increases in profit and turnover last year, latest accounts show.
The business – which represents Honda cars and motorbikes, Kia, Mazda, Renault and Dacia, and is majority owned by UAE family conglomerate AW Rostamani – returned a ‘strong’ trading performance last year, directors said.
Turnover jumped from £157.8m in 2021 to £188.6m last year, while profit before tax rose by over four per cent to £5.02m.
Brayleys Cars was ranked in 80th place in the Car Dealer Top 100 last year with an EBITDA of £5.54m.
During the year the company made three changes to its representation.
In April 2022, Brayleys acquired Orpington Honda for £668,867 in cash from Lookers. The acquisition gave the dealer group total coverage of the Japanese brand around the M25.
In November 2022, it acquired its first Honda motorcycle dealership which is located alongside its existing Honda car dealership in Romford, east London.
At the end of the year, Brayleys closed its Honda aftersales operation in Thames Ditton due to ‘weak trading performance’ and its proximity to Brayleys’ Honda business in Ewell. Brayleys had already ended sales operations at the site in 2021.
Director Paul Brayley (pictured) said: ‘We are extremely pleased with the operational and financial performance achieved during 2022, with strong underlying trading performance more than offsetting the inflationary effects of higher operating cost pressure.
‘Early signs indicate that new car supply may be beginning to improve as we move into 2023 but we anticipate that some constraints around both new and used vehicle supply will continue.
‘However, we continue to carry a strong new car order bank in 2023 and remain positive for the year ahead despite the economic headwinds.’
