8:40 am, June 6, 2025
The Trade Centre Group turned a £6.58m pre-tax profit in 2023 into a whopping £5.4m loss last year, blaming a ‘very challenging’ used car market.
Newly published accounts for the year ended November 30, 2024 show that the Car Dealer Top 100 firm turned over £275.284m – down from the £311.341m it made the year before.
It’s the second year in a row that the used car dealer has seen a dive in turnover and profit, along with selling fewer cars.
Adjusted EBITDA fell from £10.882m to £4.345m during the year, and gross profit margin slipped to 9.3% from 10.8% the year before.
The number of cars it sold dropped by just over 5,000 cars to 33,538, but its TrustPilot customer satisfaction score rose from 4.2 to 4.4.
During the year, the group declared and paid an interim dividend of £40.00 making a total dividend of £2.0m, down on the 2023’s £41.87 per ordinary A share and a total dividend of £2.1m.
Directors’ remuneration totalled £1.865m, down on 2023’s £3.347m, while the highest paid director received £1.547m – the same as the year before.
The total number of employees rose from 649 in 2023 to 675 last year, despite the firm closing a site.
In July 2024, Trade Centre Group shut its ‘small format’ Birmingham South site ‘as part of a strategic plan to grow sales in the Midlands market’, the company said, and to focus on its ‘Megastores’ in Wednesbury and Coventry. The closure cost the business some £6.2m.
In the report, signed on behalf of the board by Andy Coulthurst, the group said: ‘This year proved very challenging for the used car market, with significant economic headwinds impacting performance, particularly in the first half.
‘Reduced consumer confidence and spending power, together with inflationary cost pressures restricted performance on both retail volume and margins.
‘In response to these challenges, the business demonstrated resilience, and adapted quickly to the changing market conditions. A transformation plan was implemented, maintaining a strong focus on operational efficiency, cost management and customer service.
‘The execution of the plan corrected the performance trajectory in the second half of the year and provided strong foundations for the much stronger performance we are currently enjoying in 2025.
‘The decisive management action to close the Birmingham South store in July 2024 also assisted the performance shift in the second half of the year.’
The company added that it has already seen ‘significant benefits’ from the actions it took last year, with ‘performance improved and profits ahead of forecasted levels.’
It went on to say: ‘Our business model is highly differentiated in the used car market and is built on providing exceptional customer service, selling great quality cars to value-driven car shoppers, from best-in-class retail premises.
‘In the current economic climate, consumers are inclined to purchase from trusted suppliers in the used car retail sector. The ongoing uncertainty in the UK economy has contributed to this preference. As a result, we have positioned ourselves as a reliable option for car buyers who seek peace of mind during their purchase.
‘We are committed to delivering this core product and re-establishing the levels of profitability that the company has previously achieved. By concentrating on our strengths and providing exceptional value to our customers, we aim to restore and enhance our overall financial performance.’
