10:41 am, April 2, 2024
Saxton 4×4 saw its profits tumble last year even though turnover went up.
The Car Dealer Top 100 firm, which bills itself as being Europe’s largest used Land Rover, SUV and luxury car dealership, posted a pre-tax profit of £5.181m for the year ending June 30, 2023 – down by 47% on the £9.764m it made the previous year.
Its newly published accounts for the year also show that its operating profit sank by 54% from £10.128m to £4.642m.
That was on turnover that rose by 3% from £243.634m to £250.438m.
The average monthly number of employees rose from 145 to 164 and directors’ remuneration dropped from £1,265,309 to £851,661 (down 33%), with the highest-paid director receiving £671,453 as opposed to £1,031,666 the year before (down 35%).
The results are in sharp contrast to last year when it announced record profits for 2022.
Company director Alan Austin, who signed the accounts and accompanying reports on the board’s behalf, was granted an interest-free loan of £769,617.
The strategic report highlighted the ‘many difficulties’ that the industry faced during 2022/23 because of the economic climate, rising interest rates plus a market realignment for all fuel types that included electric.
It said Saxton bought two freehold brownfield sites, which led to the increase in staff numbers, and developed existing ones during the year ‘to ensure that Saxon 4×4 remains [the] market leader in their sector and continues with prestige vehicle sales on a supermarket volume scale’.
The sites will be ‘redeveloped into state-of-the-art industry-leading facilities’.
The report added that Saxton ‘continued to invest heavily in digitalisation and online investment into bespoke internal and external systems’, saying its ‘value-driven pricing policies helped to create a more diverse client base than before, along with a wider demographic and a larger nationwide coverage’.
Also in the report, the board praised Saxton’s employees, saying: ‘The directors acknowledge and thank all of its dedicated staff who have worked tirelessly throughout the year and have contributed greatly to their success.’
The directors also said they were grateful to Saxton’s ‘many patrons and customers for their continued support’.
Saxton recently took delivery of an ultra-rare 2023 Range Rover SV Lansdowne Edition – one of only 16 made. All of the £250,000 SUVs sold out when the car was unveiled in London.
The limited-edition Range Rover SV Lansdowne that Saxton 4×4 has for sale
The 4.4-litre Lansdowne, which has just 384 miles on the clock, is currently on sale at Saxton for £199,000.
Main image via Google Street View shows Saxton 4×4’s site in Chelmsford
