1:02 pm, September 27, 2021
Rybrook Group ended 2020 with a pre-tax profit of £3.25m – a drop of more than ten per cent on its pre-pandemic 2019 results.
Accounts published to Companies House showed the dealer group saw a slight fall in pre-tax profits, down from £3.62m a year previous.
It also experienced a dip in turnover, which fell from £811.66m to £660.47m in 2020.
The accounts show that Rybrooks claimed a whopping £6.56m in furlough cash via the government’s job retention scheme in order to get through the crisis.
Despite that, they still splashed out £35.83m in wages and salaries throughout 2020 – down from £38.6m in 2019.
A statement inside the report said the firm had made a ‘decent’ start to 2020 but was hit by the pandemic.
Director Jatinder Nurpuri said: ‘Having initially made a decent start to 2020, the group’s activities were severely disrupted by the national COVID-19 lockdown in late March.
‘Our car showrooms were closed in accordance with government restrictions, and after sales activities are restricted to a skeleton service, to support the emergency services, and key workers.
‘Following the lifting of restrictions in late summer, we reopened with appropriate social distancing measures in place and implemented a phased return to work for our staff.
‘During the second national lockdown/local tiered restrictions in November/December, while activity levels naturally suffered with appropriate social distancing measures, remote working and digital engagement, we were able to continue our aftersales activities, and click and collect vehicle sales.
‘The level of disruption this time around was therefore less severe.
‘The group has made use of the government’s furlough scheme benefited from the retail sector rates relief holiday and closely managed its cost base in order to minimise the adverse economic impact of the pandemic.’
Over the weekend, Car Dealer reported that fellow dealer group Arnold Clark has posted an enormous 2020 profit of £156.5m.
The company followed the likes of Donnelly Group, Bells Motor Group, Yeomans and Trade Centre Group in posting profits for the last year ending December 31.
Among those to suffer was Jardine Motors Group which made a £9.8m loss despite £12m-plus furlough support.
