10:52 am, October 9, 2024
Big Motoring World saw its profits tumble by almost 80% in what proved to be its final full year under the leadership of founder Peter Waddell.
Car Dealer has seen accounts for the used car supermarket group which show that the firm made a pre-tax profit of £2.24m in the 12 months to December 31, 2023.
That figure is a whopping 79.5% down on the previous year, when the company made an impressive £10.95m.
The accounts, under the name of Bapchild Motoring World (Kent) Ltd, have not been published on the Companies House website at the time of writing but have been seen in full by Car Dealer.
They show that Big Motoring World followed a wider trend across the motor trade in 2023, with turnover improving, despite tumbling profits.
The group generated £697.43m in revenue last year, up from £529.68m in 2022, with the vast majority (£649.19m) coming from the sale of vehicles.
Elsewhere, finance commissions raised £21.58m and warranty sales brought in a further £26.66m.
The additional turnover was aided by the opening of three new sites in the period covered by the accounts – in Wimbledon, Leeds and Cannock.
As a result, employee numbers shot up from an average of 613 to 881, with staff costs rising by more than 42% to £26.99m.
Meanwhile, used car sales for the group rose to 37,000 units in 2023, compared to 27,000 in 2022.
Explaining the falling profits, Big Motoring World boss Laurence Vaughan pointed to ‘continued constrained supply and a perceived pricing correction in the used car market’.
Writing in the accounts, he said that the company has shown considerable ‘resilience and strength’ and is now ‘out-performing expectations’ so far in 2024.
He said: ‘Big Motoring World has further demonstrated its resilience and strength as a major player in the used car market, by increasing its number of dealerships from five in December 2022 to eight at year-end 2023, opening sites in Wimbledon, Leeds and Cannock.
‘A further two trading dealerships, in Sheffield and Norwich, were opened in July 2024. As part of this acquisition, a further unopened site in Camberley was purchased and it is the company’s intention to open this site in late 2024.
‘Company profits fell, predominantly due to continued constrained supply and a perceived pricing correction in the used car market following unprecedented price increases during the Covid-19 era.
‘Trading year to date in 2024 is out-performing expectations despite the well documented difficulties faced by the industry in sourcing stock and cost headwinds.’
At the end of the year, Bapchild Motoring World (Kent) Ltd owed £6.07m and £6.05 to respectively to company shareholders Peter Waddell Holdco Limited and Bluebell Cars Holding Limited.
The company also ended the period of a bank debt of £9.5m.
In response to the documents being shown as ‘overdue’ by Companies House, Vaughan told Car Dealer that the accounts had been filed ‘some time ago’ and pointed to delays with the government agency’s website.
He said: ‘The accounts were filed some time ago but I understand it can take a kittle while for the Companies House website to be updated.
‘We anticipate filing earlier in future periods following the successful reorganisation of our finance department after recent management changes.’
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The latest documents come after a turbulent period for Big Motoring World, following the ousting of Waddell back in April.
His departure is not mentioned in the accounts, other than a small line to confirm he resigned on April 10, 2024.
Last week Car Dealer reported that Waddell is seeking an unfair dismissal claim against the company, which he founded in 1986.
He is claiming unfair dismissal, harassment and disability discrimination by Bluebell Cars on the grounds that he suffers from dyslexia and is partially deaf.
In the summer, the High Court denied the 58-year-old a temporary injunction which would have handed him back voting rights at the group.
In that case, it was revealed that Waddell was dismissed following allegations of misconduct from members of staff.
The court heard that an independent investigation upheld several complaints against Waddell including one that accused him of using ‘racist language’.
The investigation also returned ‘findings of bullying behaviour’ towards employees, but Waddell continues to maintain his innocence.
He claims that the investigation, carried out by Nicholas Siddall KC, was ‘flawed’ and that its timetable was ‘unreasonably short, unfair, and discriminatory’.
He added that he was not allowed a proper opportunity to respond to the allegations and that decision to remove him was ‘pre-determined’.
Car Dealer understands another High Court hearing is currently scheduled to take place in November.
