10:47 am, September 27, 2023
New and used car dealership chain Brindley Group took an 11% hit on its pre-tax profit last year despite revenue increasing marginally.
The Wolverhampton-headquartered company – which is 63rd in our Top 100 of the UK’s most profitable dealerships – made £6,030,243 before tax during the year to November 30, 2022 versus its record profit of £6,771,489 the year before.
Its results for the year, filed under the name W Brindley (Garages), also show its turnover rose from £248,782,600 in 2021 to £249,080,394 last year – up by 0.1% – despite major disruption over new and used car supply, high inflation and rising interest rates.
New retail gross profit rose by 24.4% to £1,842 per vehicle and used gross profit rose by 12% to £1,670 per unit.
In the accompanying strategic report, signed on behalf of the board by company secretary Paul Ashcroft, the company says: ‘The directors are delighted with the operational and financial performance of the group during the year, with cash performance and profitability ahead of expectations.’
Brindley Group said that almost two-thirds – 64 per cent – of the drop in pre-tax profit was down to the Covid support it received in 2021.
Interim dividends of £20.83 and £83.33 per share were paid out – the same as in 2021 – but the directors didn’t recommend paying a final dividend.
The directors were paid a total of £849,123 – up 34% on 2021’s figure of £631,499 – with the highest-paid director receiving £144,476, which was down 16% on 2021’s figure of £172,696.
The company was established in 1931 and now has a workforce of more than 300 at sites across the Midlands, representing Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Maxus, Mazda, MG, Nissan and Volvo.
It also has service centres for Mitsubishi and Vauxhall.
Brindley added that its strong retail performance had continued into 2023, with profit ahead of earlier expectations. It has also given all staff a 5% pay increase this year to help them with the cost-of-living crisis.
It recorded net assets of £39.4m, and said that the strength of its balance sheet gave ‘the greatest comfort that the business has the resilience and experience to deal with whatever may occur in the future’.
The board highlighted the fact that some manufacturers were looking to switch to the agency model, and said: ‘The first of the group’s partners to implement this change will be Volvo and the board will be monitoring the process and any impact on volume and profit levels closely.’
Pictured via Google Street View is Brindley’s Mazda dealership in Wolverhampton
