6:58 am, October 1, 2024
Car auction platform Motorway chalked up losses of £30.8m in 2023 as revenue for the consumer to dealer auction site increased dramatically.
Motorway – which allows consumers to sell their cars to a network of car dealers in daily online auctions – saw revenues increase 48% to £60.9m.
CEO Tom Leathes said the firm had ‘navigated through uncertainties’ in a ‘challenging market environment’ during the year, in his notes in the firm’s accounts just filed at Companies House.
Losses for the business reduced by 19% to £30.8m, down from £38.2m in 2022. The figures exclude costs for share-based payments.
Total value of the cars sold on its site totalled £2.2bn in 2023, up from £1.7bn the year before.
Leathes said: ‘We’re proud to have delivered such strong growth, along with a significant decrease in operating losses.
‘This marks an important step in our journey to profitability, and reflects our ongoing commitment to building the very best experience for all our customers.
‘In 2023, we focused heavily on building scalable last-mile infrastructure, including payment support through Motorway Pay, and end-to-end logistics through Motorway Move.
‘Motorway’s business model continues to set us apart, particularly in what was a volatile market undergoing fundamental changes in 2023.
‘The used car market in the UK is worth over £100bn and we firmly believe our unique model is a major competitive differentiator, positioning us strongly to continue growing our market share, and shifting behaviour to better ways of transacting.’
Motorway’s accounts for the period ending December 31, 2023, say it works with 7,000 verified car dealers. It makes its money from fees on the cars it sells on its platform and on transportation.
Motorway says it has a ‘strong balance sheet’ and funding with net assets standing at £70.1m with cash reserves of £58.5m at the end of the year.
The firm currently employs 440 staff members and has bases in London and Brighton.
We featured the company in an in-depth documentary that charts its impressive rise. You can watch that video at the top of this page.
Yesterday, rival Carwow revealed its accounts for the year which showed its car auction business had dramatically improved its fortunes. It cut its losses by 45% to £16m for the year.
