12:00 pm, May 15, 2014
LOOKERS has reported a 25 per cent increase in new car sales in quarter one, year-on-year.
According to its Interim Management Statement 2014, the company’s fleet and used car volumes had also increased, marking a great start to the year for the company. Aftersales business at Lookers also saw an increased turnover by nine per cent on a like-for-like basis compared to 2013.
Lookers said: ‘Fleet volumes increased by six per cent, slightly behind the market in terms of volume but our focus on higher margin business resulted in an increase in fleet margins in the period.
‘We have made strong progress in increasing used car volumes over the last two years and it is very pleasing to report further growth in used cars where volumes increased by eight per cent compared to last year, which was a strong comparative.’
Lookers as also noted an increase in margins and commented: ‘This is a strong performance when viewed against the background of a relatively flat used car market. This highlights our successful focus on used car sourcing, pricing, stock management and continuing increases in sales leads and enquiries generated by the group website, Lookers.co.uk.’
In March 2014, Lookers acquired Colborne Garages Limited for £33.6m and reported that trading at the garages was ‘ahead of budget’ in March.
