8:53 am, July 4, 2023
Mercedes-Benz’s UK car dealership group has restated its accounts for 2020 after it spotted errors.
In its latest filings with Companies House, Mercedes-Benz Retail Group – the manufacturer-owned car dealer business – resubmitted figures for the pandemic-hit year, admitting it had made mistakes.
Accounts for 2021 show the firm’s loss for 2020 has now increased from £19.7m to £20.3m.
Directors admitted that an ‘incorrect cost for a freehold property’ had been identified in the prior year’s accounts.
‘As a consequence accumulated losses as of January 1, 2020 were overstated and the impairment credit in the year ended December 31, 2020 was understated,’ said the directors.
The firm said tax calculations were overstated in relation to property valuations, some errors made within receivables lines and issues discovered with the presentation of its pension numbers.
All of the issues have been corrected in the latest set of accounts. The firm said the changes were due to updates in ‘accounting policy’ and the amendments were ‘voluntary’.
The firm added: ‘This is a voluntary change of policy as a result of significant change in business circumstances following the decision to undergo divestment of all assets and move the remaining entity toward dormancy.’
Mercedes-Benz has disposed of the dealerships held within the group as it moved away from running its own sites.
In January, Mercedes switched to agency sales in a move requested by its partners, claimed boss Gary Savage in a recent interview with Car Dealer.
The accounts said a ‘significant part’ of the business was sold to the Sytner Group last August with the remaining dealerships sold to Hedin Automotive – the firm that bid for Pendragon in the summer of 2022 – in April this year.
Hedin took over operations at sites in Brooklands, Dartford (pictured), Croydon and West Bromley.
Directors said this had ‘secured the long-term economic success’ of the business and the ‘continuation of the Mercedes-Benz operations within the UK’.
In 2021, the dealer group said it generated revenues of £742.5m compared with £706.1m in 2020.
It swung to a healthy profit in 2021, chalking up £29.9m of earnings before tax.
Mercedes-Benz has been contacted for comment.
