7:00 am, October 6, 2025
Car dealer giant Sytner saw its profits slashed in half last year, with bosses lamenting the ‘challenging’ nature of the used market.
Accounts recently filed via Companies House reveal that Sytner Group Limited made a pre-tax profit of £57.33m in the 12 months to the end of last December.
The figure represents a slump of 54.5% when compared to 2023, when the firm pocketed an eye-watering £125.99m and finished second in our Car Dealer Top 100 list.
Turnover also fell, with revenue dropping by 1.9% to £7.29bn.
The result was impacted by a decline in used car sales, with Sytner shifting 118,895 second-hand retail units – a decline of 10.5% when compared to the 132,909 it sold in the previous year.
Writing in the accounts, bosses said that group’s used car supermarket business – CarShop – continued to be dogged by ‘restricted’ supply.
As a result, the year saw the group dispose of two locations and close another, with the remaining eight dealerships rebranded as ‘Sytner Select’ sites.
The change was finalised before the end of Q3 and ended up costing the firm around £3m.
New car sales did fare better for the group, rising from 66,637 units in 2023 to 85,042 in 2024 – an improvement of 27.6%.
Bosses say that Mercedes sales increased by over 5,000 units but turnover from the brand did not improve due to the switch to an agency model.
The year also saw the group acquire rival firm Rybrook Investments Limited in January, adding an additional 16 franchise sites to its portfolio.
However, at the end of the year, bosses decided to axe four of its retail locations, at a total cost of £17m.
The period was the first full year after the departure of long-standing boss Darren Edwards and bosses have admitted 2024 was an ‘eventful’ period for the outfit.
Writing in the accounts, director Simon Moorhouse said: ‘2024 proved to be an eventful year for the group.
‘In January 2024 the Company made one of its largest acquisitions with the purchase of Rybrook Investments Limited, which consisted of 16 franchise dealerships including four BMW, four Mini, four Volvo, two Land Rover, one Jaguar and one Porsche.
‘Three of the BMW retail locations also included BMW Motorrad franchises. The integration of these businesses into the group was swift and management are pleased with the progress made in 2024 and into 2025.
‘The used car supermarket business, CarShop, continued to be challenging as the supply of used vehicle stock continued to be restricted due to lower than normal new car supply.
‘As a consequence the Group disposed of two locations and closed one with the remaining eight dealerships rebranded to Sytner Select.
‘This exercise was concluded in quarter three of 2024 and resulted in non-recurring costs of £3m.
‘The group made the difficult decision to close four of its retail locations at the end of the year which resulted in non-recurring closure costs of £17m, including £8m impairment of assets.
‘The group is committed to being recognised as ‘the best company to work for’ in our sector.
‘The group continues to make great progress against this objective and we recognise that unparalleled customer service can only be achieved by attracting, motivating and retaining the very best team members.’
Elsewhere, the accounts show that Sytner ended the year with net assets of £521.31m, compared to £554.54m in 2023. The company also paid dividends of £65m during the period.
Meanwhile, group’s workforce grew to an average of 10,902 employees, with staffing costs totalling an increased £535.77m. At the same time, directors’ remunerations dropped from £2.25m to £1.94m.
