DECEMBER 2015 TOP - Autoactu.com · Sell more cars, faster with i-Control 94621.001 Motor Trader Dec Ad_FC_Supplement_aw1.indd 1 02/12/2015 12:16 TOP THE AWARD-WINNING VOICE OF THE

Sell more cars,

faster with

i-Control

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TOPTHE AWARD-WINNING VOICE OF THE CAR RETAILING SECTOR

MOTORTRADERwww.motortrader.com

Franchised Dealer Survey

DECEMBER 2015

www.motortrader.com

Learn more at trade.autotrader.co.uk/i-Control

Is your stock the mostdesirable locally?

Do you regularly re-price it?

Are you pricingit correctly?

Do you want to sell more cars?

To attract customers and stay ahead of the competition, it's important to stock desirable vehicles and price them correctly for your area.

You've definitely got the know-how, but have you got the data and insight that enables you to improve both stock turn and profitability?

i-Control, powered by Auto Trader, helps you evaluate your stock against demand, supply, margin potential and speed of sale in your area. It provides you with a view of how your stock is performing in the marketplace, allowing you to automatically update your listings, saving you time and ensuring your forecourt is competitively priced.

Find out how retailers have increased the desirability of their forecourt using i-Control.

Smarter, faster stock management withi-Control can help you sell more cars

What drives us is you

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DECEMBER2015DECEMBER2015www.motortrader.com

TOP200MOTORTRADER

Toby Procter & Chris Oakham

The 2015 Motor Trader Top 200 finds the franchised dealer sector in rude health with the top 12

players each turning over in excess of £1bn, the combined turnover up more than £4bn and average return on sales rising to 1.35%.

As the sector’s consolidation continues the Motor Trader Top 200 reaped the benefits of a strong new car market, albeit

heavily subsidised by manufacturer sponsored PCP finance, increasing demand for good quality used cars and high levels of workshop utilisation.

However, the performance of many groups was achieved against a backdrop of weakening new car gross margins, as many carmakers force-fed the market with higher volume bonus targets. Some groups also suffered weaker aftersales margins in what proved to be an increasingly competitive market.

For consumers it was a good year to be in the market for a new car with the buoyant housing market and low interest rates making big ticket purchases more affordable. They also benefitted from the continued influx of metal with carmakers maintaining high levels of right hand drive production as growth in other European markets took longer to gather pace. Indeed, the buoyant car market helped over 40 dealer groups to grow fast enough to feature in the recent Sunday Times

In the blackThe 2015 Motor Trader Top 200 reports on how turnover and profitability are rising in the franchised dealer sector QUICKREAD

The MT Top 200 ranks franchised dealer groups by their latest financial year turnover

188 groups from last year’s survey remain in the rankings

Combined turnover of the 2015 MT Top 200 is £56.4bn (2014: £52bn)

The top 12 dealer groups have each turned over more than £1bn

The entry level for the MT Top 200 remains £29m

The average MT Top 200 RoS is 1.35%

MT Top 200 groups employ 120,267 people

12 groups make their MT Top 200 debut

Nine MT Top 200 groups reported losses compared to 10 last year

03

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www.motortrader.com www.motortrader.comDECEMBER2015DECEMBER2015

04 MOTORTRADER TOP200

Roy TaylorLifestyle Ford Redhill

“Knowing the desirability of a car before I purchase it is a greatadvantage that i-Control gives me, that nothing else can.”

94621.001 Motor Trader Dec Strip Ads 20x430_aw3.indd 1-2 03/12/2015 10:07

Top Track league table which monitors the UK’s fastest growing businesses.

A notable trend in this year’s research was the number of groups reporting how their performance had been impacted by the costs of adopting new franchise standards for brands

Citroën-owned retail subsidiary. Most of the remaining newcomers

can be found entering the lower part of the listing

with the exception of Allen Ford, which debuts at 44.

The billion pound turnover club saw three new entrants this

year with Listers, Marshall Motor

and JCT600 expanding this elite to the groups now

occupying the top 12 positions.Listers also marked its top 10

debut at number 10 as it swapped positions with the now listed Marshall Motor, now at number 11. Meanwhile, Vertu Motors can celebrate its phenomenal growth with a top five placing at number five, up from sixth place last year.

pushing strongly upmarket. As a result of these high investments, coupled with some apparent weakening of the franchise sector’s hold on aftersales demand, a number of groups reported lower pre-tax profits on higher revenues. However, only seven of the 188 groups that featured in both last year’s and this year’s surveys made losses compared to 10 last year.

This year sees 12 new entrants to the Motor Trader Top 200 rankings, including Peugeot-Citroën Retail UK (14), the importer-owned group which now combines the Robins & Day Peugeot business and the 13 outlets of the formerly separate

#1 Pendragon Turnover: £4.0bnPre-tax profit: £64.6mEmployees: 9,3432014 position: 1CEO: Trevor Finn

TOP200MOTORTRADER

Companies just below the MT Top 200

• All Electric Garages Group plc

• Dickens Group

• Forest Gate Corby

• Marsh Garages

• Norfolk Motor Group

• Quest Motor Group

• Style Motors

• Taylors Service Garages

• Unity Automotive Group

• Warners of Gloucester

Bubbling under

£4.4bnGrowth in the

combined turnover of the 2015 MT

Top 200

New Rank

2014Rank Company/Group

Turnover(£000)

1 1 Pendragon plc 4,000,400

2 2 Sytner Group 3,726,000

3 3 Arnold Clark Automobiles 3,265,412

4 4 Lookers plc 3,042,900

5 6 Vertu Motors plc 2,074,912

6 7 Mercedes-Benz Retail Group 1,734,104

7 8 Jardine Motors Group 1,528,657

8 5 Inchcape plc 1,454,048

9 9 TrustFord 1,441,278

10 11 Listers Group 1,114,266

11 10 Marshall Motor Holdings plc 1,085,883

12 12 JCT 600 1,025,429

13 13 Group 1 Automotive UK 1 (e) 886,778

14 NEW Peugeot Citroën Retail UK 2 795,358

15 14 Greenhous Group 685,025

16 16 Ridgeway Group 647,661

17 18 John Clark Motor Group 604,114

18 17 Perrys Group 530,949

19 21 Harwoods 1 (e) 516,000

20 24 Helston Garage Group 471,435

21 26 Eastern Holdings 463,700

22 29 Renault Retail Group 457,689

23 32 Parks of Hamilton 453,324

24 23 Cambria Automobiles Holdings 450,148

25 22 RRG Group (+ Norton Way Motors) 449,718

26 25 Stoneacre 449,602

27 31 Pentagon Holdings 440,391

28 28 Rybrook Holdings 438,011

29 30 Swansway Garages 423,270

30 33 Peter Vardy Holdings 393,463

31 27 Spire Automotive 377,174

32 34 Williams Motor Co (Holdings) 362,570

33 36 Dick Lovett Group 357,479

34 35 Vindis Group 351,697

35 37 Glyn Hopkin 351,444

36 46 Motorline 333,729

37 42 West Way Nissan 329,952

38 38 Sinclair Motor Holdings 325,935

39 40 Lloyd Motors 323,266

40 48 Halliwell Jones 318,900

41 39 Robinson Motor Group 304,132

42 44 Hendy Holdings 302,743

43 45 Mon Motors Group 294,280

44 NEW Allen Ford 3 290,568

45 52 Johnsons Cars 270,270

46 47 Hartwell plc 261,128

47 54 Vospers 250,937

48 51 Sandicliffe Motor Group 250,871

49 53 Westover Holdings 249,385

50 57 Donnelly Bros Garages (Dungannon) 243,158

MT TOP 200 BY TURNOVER

DECEMBER2015DECEMBER2015www.motortrader.com www.motortrader.com

Roy TaylorLifestyle Ford Redhill

“Knowing the desirability of a car before I purchase it is a greatadvantage that i-Control gives me, that nothing else can.”


05

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New Rank


Turnover(£000)

51 62 Drayton Group (Meteor) 241,343

52 43 HR Owen plc 4 (e) 239,680

53 50 TC Harrison Group 239,502

54 49 Drive Motor Retail 237,216

55 63 Peoples 236,700

56 58 Porsche Retail Group 223,606

57 55 CEM Day 223,081

58 67 Stephen James Group 214,775

59 56 Jemca Car Group 214,581

60 61 Caffyns plc 210,314

61 64 Beadles Group 209,455

62 69 City West Country 201,769

63 66 Currie Motors 196,214

64 59 Clare James 4 (e) 196,000

65 68 Snows Group 194,796

66 70 Macrae & Dick 194,046

67 76 Knights Group 193,377

68 71 Sandown Motors (formerly Jacksons) 187,907

69 65 Toomey Group 179,704

70 75 Hatfields (McLean & Appleton) 177,792

71 72 SG Smith Automotive 5 177,370

72 104 Meridian Motor Group 173,948

73 77 Yeomans 172,430

74 81 S Jennings 172,398

75 86 Eden (GM) 171,558

76 60 TG Holdcroft (Holdings) 4 (e) 170,596

77 73 Specialist Cars Group 169,619

78 91 Guildford Portfolios t/a Vines 158,941

79 79 W Brindley Garages 158,356

80 74 Thurlow Nunn (TNS) 158,233

81 90 Citygate Automotive 157,211

82 80 Lifestyle Europe 157,185

83 85 Barretts Motor Group 155,532

84 89 Marriott Motor Group 155,150

85 84 Heritage Automotive 153,606

86 88 Thompson Motor Company 152,163

87 87 John Grose Group 149,761

88 92 Bestodeck 143,697

89 100 Blade Motor Group 136,552

90 94 Wessex Garages 136,060

91 95 Essex Auto Group 135,315

92 102 Parkway Derby 135,054

93 93 Phoenix Car Company 134,375

94 103 Marsh Wall 130,914

95 97 WH Bowker 130,831

96 110 Drift Bridge Garage 1 (e) 130,000

97 101 SG Petch 127,274

98 96 Renrod Holdings 126,856

99 111 Hughes of Beaconsfield 126,401

100 99 Cotswold Motor Group 126,067

New Rank


Turnover(£000)

101 98 Foray Motor Group 120,568

102 113 Steven Eagell 119,546

103 83 The Harratts Group 117,099

104 115 Fish Brothers 116,187

105 105 Chorley Group 112,471

106 109 L&L Inc 108,628

107 106 WJ King (Garages) 107,764

108 114 Walter E Sturgess and Sons 106,819

109 107 Howard Garages 106,500

110 118 Ocean BMW (Grevan Cars) 105,273

111 139 JCB Medway 101,008

112 117 Martins Group 97,994

113 119 Mill Garages North East 97,775

114 121 Furrows Group 96,603

115 116 Gates Group 95,108

116 130 Go Motor Retailing 92,351

117 125 Ocean Automotive 91,636

118 112 West London Motor Group 91,605

119 123 Cathedral Motor Company 91,142

120 135 Underwoods Garage 90,869

121 129 Central Garage (Uppingham) 90,259

122 138 Tanner Automotive 86,765

123 133 Pentagon Toyota (Burrows) 85,782

124 120 City Motor Holdings 85,630

125 108 Endeavour Automotive 6 (e) 84,750

126 126 Gordon Lamb Holdings 84,034

127 128 Ancaster Group 83,844

128 122 Collier Motor Group 83,707

129 134 Now Motor Retailing 82,270

130 140 DM Keith 82,200

131 127 Greenoaks (Maidenhead) 80,598

132 132 Bolton Car Centre 80,588

133 136 Desira Group plc 77,856

134 141 Border Cars 4 (e) 77,000

135 137 Worcester Car Sales 76,771

136 149 Sutton Park Motor Company 76,013

137 144 Hawco & Sons 75,116

138 142 Horizon-Magna Motor Group 74,933

139 145 Cameron Group 74,872

140 148 Cox Motor Group 73,634

141 153 Trust Group UK 71,329

142 147 Peter Cooper Motor Group 70,403

143 155 Birchwood Motor Group 68,744

144 150 Baylis (Gloucester) 68,619

145 162 Brayley's Cars 68,535

146 156 FG Barnes & Sons 64,252

147 160 Bussey & Sabberton Bros 63,009

148 165 Simon Bailes 62,614

149 152 Chapel House Holdings 61,852

150 158 Hawkins Motor Group 61,826

New Rank


Turnover(£000)

151 159 EMG Anglia 61,339

152 154 Sherwoods 61,307

153 143 Wilson & Co 61,148

154 163 Barnetts Motor Group 58,494

155 169 Carco Group 58,363

156 157 Hodgson Newcastle 58,199

157 166 FRF Toyota 56,438

158 171 Gravells 55,165

159 161 Slaters of Abergele 55,041

160 151 John Martin Group 54,012

161 170 Dinnages 53,785

162 164 FRF Motors 53,213

163 168 OMC Motor Group 51,880

164 167 Startin Group 51,870

165 176 Springfield Motor Group 50,877

166 174 St Leonards Motors 49,390

167 173 RMB Automotive 47,094

168 183 Richmond Cars 47,044

169 175 Richard Hardie 47,034

170 177 Richard Sanders 46,500

171 172 M53 Motors 46,406

172 178 Mitchell Group 45,221

173 184 Masters of Beckenham 44,983

174 181 JT Hughes Oswestry 44,164

175 180 CCR Motor (ex Colt Cars Mid-West) 42,947

176 179 John Banks Group 42,291

177 182 Murkett Brothers 42,208

178 186 David Hayton 41,824

179 194 Ingram Motoring Group 40,696

180 188 Cars 2 40,394

181 187 Hylton Group 39,998

182 NEW Wellington Motors 39,679

183 193 Jarretts Motors 39,394

184 185 Picador plc 38,767

185 NEW Dale's Central Motors 37,985

186 191 Holden & Holden 37,888

187 NEW Dingles Motor Group 35,205

188 189 J&J Motors 34,876

189 195 Pye Motors 34,284

190 198 Cawdor Cars (Newcastle Emlyn) 34,244

191 200 Hammond Motor Group 32,323

192 199 Thames Honda 31,991

193 NEW Colin Appleyard 31,224

194 197 Dews Motor Group 30,487

195 NEW Tustain Motors 30,464

196 NEW Rowes Garage 29,967

197 NEW TW White 29,901

198 NEW Chippenham Motor Company 4 (e) 29,687

199 NEW Northern Motors 29,316

200 NEW Corkills 29,027

Notes: 1. Figures supplied by the groups 2. Robins & Day and Citroën Retail now merged 3. Allen Ford sold by Camden Ventures 4. Our estimate (incl. changed periods) 5. Acquired by Marshall Motor Holdings on 16 November 2015 6. Our estimate for combined Endeavour and Regent Automotive (e) indicates an estimate n/a indicates data not available or not supplied


MOTORTRADER TOP200

ProfitabilityPendragon retains its long held position as the biggest group in the UK and this year breaks through the £4bn turnover barrier for the first time. The group, which has been a plc for 25 years, reaped the benefits of strong new sales and its strategic move to sell older used cars. However, the second placed Penske-owned Sytner Group more than halved the gap from last year’s survey, as

more than Pendragon’s mix of its volume Evans Halshaw and premium Stratstone brands.

The highest-profit group in the Motor Trader Top 200, though, was third-placed Arnold Clark Automobiles which achieved pre-tax profits of £107.3m.

As Europe’s biggest family-owned group, Arnold Clark’s continued stellar profit performance can be largely attributed to an outstanding commitment to developing its used sales business.

The Motor Trader Top 200’s combined 8.6% growth in turnover was exceeded by the 2014 new car market’s volume growth of 9.3%. The 2015 survey shows a slight but welcome improvement in the average return on sales of 1.35% (2014: 1.3%), although this represents a sustained improvement on the 0.9% reported in the 2012 survey.

Of the top 25 pre-tax profit growth performers in the Motor Trader Top 200, 15 are also in the top 25 groups by turnover, confirming that there are economies of scale for those who know how best to exploit the right franchises in the right territories.

it grew turnover by £456m or 14% year-on-year – having made just one acquisition in the form of Skipton Volkswagen – compared to Pendragon’s £151.5m year on year growth.

Sytner’s impressive pre-tax profits reveal the biggest gap between the two groups with its 100-plus outlets generating £90m, compared with Pendragon’s £64.6m from 200 franchise points.

Sytner’s premium franchises will have helped its gross margins

Processes are the driving force for the best dealers

06

#4 Lookers Turnover: £3.04bnPre-tax profit: £59.2mEmployees: 6,2262014 position: 4CEO: Andy Bruce

TOP200MOTORTRADER

#145 Brayleys Turnover: £68.5mPre-tax profit: £968kEmployees: 1322014 position: 162CEO: Paul Brayley

TOP200MOTORTRADER

ast month we were able to recognise the outstanding achievements of independent retailers in digital

car retailing. This month it is the turn of franchised dealers in the first ever Auto Trader Franchised Dealer Excellence Awards, designed to recognise the best digitally savvy dealerships in the UK. They also celebrate those who are able to utilise Auto Trader’s Four Pillars of Buying, Selling, Marketing and Managing to create a business plan designed for today’s digital automotive marketplace.

Buying stock that consumers want is essential for every retailer. Successful franchises are those who have utilised tools such as iControl to fill their forecourt with the right stock at the right price. Cars that are in high demand locally sell quicker and offer potentially better returns.

When selling, ads need to give a consumer everything they need to fall in love with your vehicle. Your ad needs to stand out amongst thousands of similar ads. Consider three key elements: Price, Picture and Words. 1. Price correctly. Too high or too low will

make a buyer suspicious. 2. A picture tells a thousand words. You

wouldn’t dream of putting unpolished cars on your forecourt, so images should be polished too.

3. Buyers are hungry for information and this is your opportunity to tell them why this is the car for them.

How you market your stock is the next key consideration. Now a customer is sold on your car, how do they feel about you as a business.

When it comes to customer service, the digital world is a level playing field. Any dealership bi g or small can make their online experience world class by giving consumers what they want. Simple changes such as optimising your website for mobile and tablet can make a huge difference, especially when you consider that 63% of consumers use these devices to visit your website.

Show and tell your customers that they can trust you. Use social media, so they can see you as human, and consider investing in SEO to stand out from your competitors.

Finally, manage in real time to make more profit, by pricing correctly. Stock is only the right stock if you can sell it quickly.

Nick King, Auto Trader, Insight Director

Matthew JowittPentagon Scunthorpe

“With i-Control, I can re-price a car five or six times before selling it;I fine tune my prices instead of going bold and blind £200 at a time.”


L


Sponsored by

07

New Rank

2014 Rank Company / Group

Latest (£000) or Estimated T/O

Pre-Tax Profit (£000) Latest Period

Previous (£000) or Estimated T/O

Pre-Tax Profit (£000)

CurrentEmployees

PreviousEmployees

1 1 Pendragon plc 4,000,400 64,600 12/14 3,848,900 38,900 9,343 9,171

2 2 Sytner Group 3,726,000 90,000 12/14 3,270,000 71,000 6,800 6,200

3 3 Arnold Clark Automobiles 3,265,412 107,282 12/14 2,918,887 85,170 9,184 8,930

4 4 Lookers plc 3,042,900 59,200 12/14 2,464,500 43,900 6,226 5,578

5 6 Vertu Motors plc 2,074,912 20,998 02/15 1,684,532 15,842 4,010 3,488

6 7 Mercedes-Benz Retail Group 1,734,104 17,413 12/14 1,463,655 19,793 2,088 2,059

7 8 Jardine Motors Group 1,528,657 25,780 12/14 1,388,415 16,059 2,696 2,598

8 5 Inchcape plc 1,454,048 21,685 12/14 1,329,797 15,152 3,047 2,992

9 9 TrustFord 1,441,278 7,208 12/14 1,286,244 2,378 3,074 2,813

10 11 Listers Group 1,114,266 14,143 03/15 987,454 15,351 1,973 1,891

11 10 Marshall Motor Holdings plc 1,085,883 11,460 12/14 940,506 8,291 2,160 2,025

12 12 JCT 600 1,025,429 18,565 12/14 909,783 15,124 1,920 1,743

13 13 Group 1 Automotive UK 1 (e) 886,778 (e) 12,267 12/15 609,849 8,442 1,403 1,084

14 NEW Peugeot Citroën Retail UK 2 795,358 -9,286 12/14 n/a n/a 1,506 n/a

15 14 Greenhous Group 685,025 3,838 12/14 653,511 2,499 661 575

16 16 Ridgeway Group 647,661 10,302 12/14 546,982 8,169 1,138 1,085

17 18 John Clark Motor Group 604,114 10,534 12/14 470,186 7,409 1,031 931

18 17 Perrys Group 530,949 10,058 12/14 491,477 6,779 1,487 1,389

19 21 Harwoods 1 (e) 516,000 (e) 11,750 12/15 474,625 11,525 910 812

20 24 Helston Garage Group 471,435 13,668 12/14 395,175 11,482 880 813

21 26 Eastern Holdings 463,700 7,100 12/14 393,600 6,100 986 948

22 29 Renault Retail Group 457,689 -38 12/14 373,446 -294 763 741

23 32 Parks of Hamilton 453,324 16,049 03/15 404,062 14,293 1,267 1,201

24 23 Cambria Automobiles Holdings 450,148 5,311 08/14 395,776 4,026 1,024 1,017

25 22 RRG Group (+ Norton Way Motors) 449,718 5,571 03/15 407,750 5,075 1,099 1,068

26 25 Stoneacre 449,602 7,015 04/15 395,058 7,017 1,446 1,380

27 31 Pentagon Holdings 440,391 4,065 12/14 360,848 1,404 954 850

28 28 Rybrook Holdings 438,011 4,405 12/14 377,089 2,019 749 757

29 30 Swansway Garages 423,270 5,533 12/14 366,678 4,563 637 615

30 33 Peter Vardy Holdings 393,463 5,209 12/14 340,740 6,524 824 806

31 27 Spire Automotive 377,174 7,139 12/14 251,484 4,972 600 386

32 34 Williams Motor Co (Holdings) 362,570 4,007 12/14 320,773 5,001 642 614

33 36 Dick Lovett Group 357,479 7,509 12/14 308,230 5,732 556 512

34 35 Vindis Group 351,697 4,443 12/14 317,882 3,520 771 725

35 37 Glyn Hopkin 351,444 6,286 12/14 294,536 5,218 580 552

36 46 Motorline 333,729 4,208 12/14 254,938 4,005 870 832

37 42 West Way Nissan 329,952 1,680 12/14 271,704 1,297 379 352

38 38 Sinclair Motor Holdings 325,935 3,081 12/14 291,996 2,561 587 532

39 40 Lloyd Motors 323,266 6,435 12/14 281,730 5,512 701 712

40 48 Halliwell Jones 318,900 4,683 12/14 296,357 2,708 511 488

41 39 Robinson Motor Group 304,132 5,878 12/14 283,334 5,226 608 580

42 44 Hendy Holdings 302,743 669 12/14 261,072 -3,042 605 641

43 45 Mon Motors Group 294,280 3,067 12/14 258,273 2,512 657 626

44 NEW Allen Ford 3 290,568 6,786 12/14 270,871 2,619 632 659

45 52 Johnsons Cars 270,270 1,193 12/14 220,950 1,412 706 643

46 47 Hartwell plc 261,128 5,919 11/14 267,514 6,119 601 611

47 54 Vospers 250,937 3,180 12/14 207,900 2,426 684 663

48 51 Sandicliffe Motor Group 250,871 2,267 12/14 221,491 1,501 646 611

49 53 Westover Holdings 249,385 6,418 12/14 211,871 5,872 675 591

50 57 Donnelly Bros Garages (Dungannon) 243,158 864 10/14 (e) 204,720 n/a 582 548

MT TOP 200 IN DETAIL PREVIOUS FINANCIAL YEARLATEST FINANCIAL YEAR


Matthew JowittPentagon Scunthorpe

“With i-Control, I can re-price a car five or six times before selling it;I fine tune my prices instead of going bold and blind £200 at a time.”



08 MOTORTRADER TOP200

Key moversThis year’s top four groups are unchanged, while Vertu Motors (5) and Mercedes-Benz Retail (6) each moved up a place, as did Jardine Motors (7). Sixteen of the Motor Trader Top 200 groups held onto their 2014 survey rankings,

Twenty-five of the Motor Trader Top 200 moved up from last year’s rankings by more than 10 places, ranging from Brayleys Cars (145) to Masters of Beckenham (173). The two biggest movers upwards in the rankings were Meridian Motor Group (up 32 places to 72) and JCB Medway (up 28 to 111).

Groups which lost ground in the 2015 Motor Trader Top 200 rankings numbered 34, though few of them dropped by more than one point. Significant

manufacturer-owned – Peugeot-Citroën Retail Group (14) and Renault Retail Group (22).

Other groups in the red included Phoenix Car Company (93), Haratts Group (103), Pentagon-Toyota (123), Collier Motor Group (128), Wilson & Co (153), CCR Motors (175) and Dingles Motor Group (187).

Carmaker-owned groupsAside from PSA and Renault the other manufacturer owned groups enjoyed a strong showing. The highest rated remained Mercedes-Benz Retail (6) which climbed one place, although it reported pre-tax profit slightly down at 1% of sales; but that was considered by its directors as: “a satisfactory performance for the year…broadly in line with expectations”.

The Blue Oval-owned TrustFord (9) enjoyed a strong performance, while Porsche Retail Group (56) improved by two places and even featured in 24th place among the top 25 by profit growth, having doubled its profit year on year by £1.7m.

Record return on salesThis year, the Motor Trader Top 200’s combined pre-tax profit was £883m – a level not seen since the current set of surveys began back in 2006 – and nearly double the figure recorded in the 2012 survey. In terms of return on sales, the 1.3% in last year’s survey and 1.35% this year were also near double the recent low of 0.7% in the 2012 survey.

The most impressive RoS was

movements amongst the top 20 groups saw Inchcape fall three place to number 8, Marshall Motor Holdings down one to 11 and Greenhous down 1 to 15.

It’s worth repeating the old mantra about profit (or sanity) outweighing size (or vanity), where the former is achieved by avoiding over-egging efforts to increase turnover, and in this respect, it’s notable that a group such as Spire Automotive, which moved down four places in the rankings by turnover (to 31), still managed to increase its pre-tax profit by over £2m, to take 18th place in the MT Top 25 by increased profits.

LossesNine groups reported losses in their latest accounts, of which two were

Key performance yardsticks 2015 Survey 2014 Survey

Total turnover of Motor Trader Top 200 £56.4 billion £52.0 billion

Projected total pre-tax profits of Top 200 £883 million £722m

Straight average pre-tax profit % of turnover 1.35% 1.3%

Total employed by Top 200 120,267 119,270

Average turnover per employee per annum £469,170 £435,764

Straight average pre-tax profit per employee £6,094 £5,387

KEY YARDSTICKS

Note: Projections were used to fill out data where unknown using averages

08

#5 Vertu Motor Turnover: £2.07bnPre-tax profit: £21mEmployees: 4,0102014 position: 6CEO: Robert Forrester

TOP200MOTORTRADER

#24 Cambria Turnover: £450m Pre-tax profit: £5.3mEmployees: 1,0242014 position: 23CEO: Mark Lavery

TOP200MOTORTRADER

Chris KillenGeorgesons

“i-Control is not about replacing experience, but complementing it.It’s a more intelligent take on pricing and stock management.”



09

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09

New Rank






CurrentEmployees

PreviousEmployees

51 62 Drayton Group (Meteor) 241,343 4,565 12/14 190,547 2,744 387 378

52 43 HR Owen plc 4 (e) 239,680 n/a 04/15 261,096 2,601 412 360

53 50 TC Harrison Group 239,502 3,584 12/14 224,581 2,643 530 501

54 49 Drive Motor Retail 237,216 3,702 12/14 233,151 2,776 722 699

55 63 Peoples 236,700 5,508 07/15 204,998 4,152 395 395

56 58 Porsche Retail Group 223,606 3,079 12/14 196,928 1,348 264 258

57 55 CEM Day 223,081 9,017 12/14 205,443 7,354 531 514

58 67 Stephen James Group 214,775 2,355 12/14 177,647 1,504 290 293

59 56 Jemca Car Group 214,581 1,876 03/15 205,114 1,411 479 469

60 61 Caffyns plc 210,314 11,438 03/15 193,166 1,566 407 400

61 64 Beadles Group 209,455 2,813 03/15 184,681 3,101 450 406

62 69 City West Country 201,769 4,486 12/14 165,375 3,430 366 346

63 66 Currie Motors 196,214 9,244 04/15 180,111 6,407 473 438

64 59 Clare James 4 (e) 196,000 n/a 12/13 (e) 172,000 n/a 613 532

65 68 Snows Group 194,796 1,305 12/14 174,305 1,123 506 489

66 70 Macrae & Dick 194,046 2,688 12/14 163,956 1,613 460 459

67 76 Knights Group 193,377 1,267 12/14 113,782 1,444 220 149

68 71 Sandown Motors (formerly Jacksons) 187,907 820 12/14 n/a n/a 350 n/a

69 65 Toomey Group 179,704 2,662 12/14 178,372 2,231 463 459

70 75 Hatfields (McLean & Appleton) 177,792 5,152 01/15 154,987 4,107 355 324

71 72 SG Smith Automotive 5 177,370 3,015 12/14 163,334 2,484 394 397

72 104 Meridian Motor Group 173,948 1,059 12/14 104,738 811 408 279

73 77 Yeomans 172,430 4,124 12/14 151,795 2,678 364 355

74 81 S Jennings 172,398 1,246 12/14 145,875 925 410 389

75 86 Eden (GM) 171,558 3,152 12/14 139,816 2,783 395 328

76 60 TG Holdcroft (Holdings) 4 (e) 170,596 n/a 12/14 194,375 1,405 348 396

77 73 Specialist Cars Group 169,619 1,840 12/14 155,062 1,147 286 289

78 91 Guildford Portfolios t/a Vines 158,941 1,807 12/14 131,149 1,407 301 296

79 79 W Brindley Garages 158,356 1,224 11/14 146,999 1,043 390 365

80 74 Thurlow Nunn (TNS) 158,233 2,290 12/14 141,435 1,906 468 425

81 90 Citygate Automotive 157,211 810 12/14 133,582 521 421 400

82 80 Lifestyle Europe 157,185 3,701 03/15 146,404 3,099 438 429

83 85 Barretts Motor Group 155,532 1,415 12/14 141,220 1,004 358 340

84 89 Marriott Motor Group 155,150 2,132 12/14 134,842 2,009 333 335

85 84 Heritage Automotive 153,606 552 12/14 142,152 1,501 445 445

86 88 Thompson Motor Company 152,163 2,129 12/14 138,129 2,389 248 226

87 87 John Grose Group 149,761 3,627 12/14 138,598 3,514 338 331

88 92 Bestodeck 143,697 1,672 11/14 130,445 1,022 306 303

89 100 Blade Motor Group 136,552 1,364 12/14 112,726 1,230 472 384

90 94 Wessex Garages 136,060 2,032 12/14 121,626 1,705 260 231

91 95 Essex Auto Group 135,315 825 10/14 121,223 787 293 276

92 102 Parkway Derby 135,054 2,017 11/14 109,663 1,090 253 232

93 93 Phoenix Car Company 134,375 -209 01/14 126,931 -884 357 378

94 103 Marsh Wall 130,914 2,231 12/14 109,119 1,349 222 205

95 97 WH Bowker 130,831 1,294 12/14 114,155 1,899 367 356

96 110 Drift Bridge Garage 1 (e) 130,000 n/a 12/15 119,210 1,607 n/a 278

97 101 SG Petch 127,274 858 04/14 110,655 108 269 246

98 96 Renrod Holdings 126,856 1,417 12/14 116,430 1,451 383 372

99 111 Hughes of Beaconsfield 126,401 1,968 12/14 97,879 1,321 344 334

100 99 Cotswold Motor Group 126,067 2,093 12/14 112,768 2,140 293 266



Chris KillenGeorgesons

“i-Control is not about replacing experience, but complementing it.It’s a more intelligent take on pricing and stock management.”


www.motortrader.comwww.motortrader.comDECEMBER2015DECEMBER2015

MOTORTRADER TOP200

RankTop 200

Rank Company / GroupLatest Turnover

(£000)Previous Turnover

(£000) Sales Increase

1 67 Knights Group 193,377 113,782 70.0%

2 72 Meridian Motor Group 173,948 104,738 66.1%

3 31 Spire Automotive 377,174 251,484 50.0%

4 199 Northern Motors 29,316 19,922 47.2%

5 111 JCB Medway 101,008 69,583 45.2%

6 185 Dale's Central Motors 37,985 28,809 31.9%

7 36 Motorline 333,729 254,938 30.9%

8 99 Hughes of Beaconsfield 126,401 97,879 29.1%

9 17 John Clark Motor Group 604,114 470,186 28.5%

10 148 Simon Bailes 62,614 48,993 27.8%

11 188 J&J Motors 34,876 27,352 27.5%

12 179 Ingram Motoring Group 40,696 32,050 27.0%

13 51 Drayton Group (Meteor) 241,343 190,547 26.7%

14 145 Brayley's Cars 68,535 54,387 26.0%

15 102 Steven Eagell 119,546 94,885 26.0%

16 104 Fish Brothers 116,187 93,451 24.3%

17 120 Underwoods Garage 90,869 73,363 23.9%

18 4 Lookers plc 3,042,900 2,464,500 23.5%

19 187 Dingles Motor Group 35,205 28,547 23.3%

20 5 Vertu Motors plc 2,074,912 1,684,532 23.2%

21 92 Parkway Derby 135,054 109,663 23.2%

22 155 Carco Group 58,363 47,491 22.9%

23 75 Eden (GM) 171,558 139,816 22.7%

24 122 Tanner Automotive 86,765 70,771 22.6%

25 22 Renault Retail Group 457,689 373,446 22.6%

MT TOP 25 INCREASED SALES

Note: 1. This table is based solely on those businesses for which figures were available excluding estimates 2. This tables only includes those groups reporting year-ends from June 2014.

achieved by Mitchell Group (172), the relatively small family-owned multi-franchise Chester business, which was this year’s top profit earner, with a pre-tax profit of £2.4m representing a winning 5.4% RoS of £45.2m.

The top five groups by return on sales all achieved figures above 4%, while the 25th most profitable group, Hartwell (46), achieved 2.3%, still almost twice the all-Motor Trader Top 200 average of 1.35%. The fact that Allen Ford (44) and Peoples (55) also registered 2.3% RoS ratios showed that not all dealer groups need premium franchises to achieve well above-average results.

Mitchell Group (172) also achieved the distinction this year of returning the highest profit per employee, with its 89 staff combining to achieve a pre-tax figure of £2.4m, or £27,391 per head. Sytner Group (2), this year’s second best company to work for in the Sunday Times Top Track all-sectors rankings, had 6,800 employees in 2014, and they averaged profits of £13,235 per head, placing the group in 11th place in the profit-per-employee rankings.

exceptions. Vertu Motors (5) reported the acquisitions of nine dealer outlets during 2014, plus a taxi sourcing and finance business; while very few groups were in difficulties, obvious targets for non-organic growth looked

relatively thin on the ground.It was not until late 2015

that the pace of deals looked like picking up. One example was fourth-placed Lookers’ £87.5m acquisition of the £699.7m-turnover Benfield

As with other ratios, this one provides further proof that premium franchises are not the only route to profitable retailing.

Consolidation slowsThe average turnover of all the groups in the Motor Trader Top 200 is now £282m, (2014: £260m) while the entry point remains at £29m, showing just how diverse the make-up of the UK’s biggest groups is.

Including estimates, the top 10 groups now account for over 40% of the entire Motor Trader Top 200’s combined turnover; numbers 11-25 for 16.9%; the groups placed 26th-50th for 14.7%; groups placed 51st-

100th for 15.4%; and the 100 companies ranked 101st-

200th for just 11.6% of the £56.4bn

turnover of the entire 200.

While there are now 12 groups at

the top of the rankings turning

over more than £1bn a year, 2014

was not a year when M&A activity featured large, with obvious targets for non-organic growth proving to be relatively thin on the ground.

There were some notable

10

1.35%Average RoS of the

MT Top 200

#2 Sytner Turnover: £3.7bn Pre-tax profit: £90mEmployees: 6,8002014 position: 2CEO: Darren Edwards

TOP200MOTORTRADER

Daryl PimbleyHumphries & Parks Mitsubishi

“I have been using i-Control for a number of months now, and I have had several instances where the specific use of its market intelligence has led me to sell cars at a higher price than I would normally have done.”

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11

New Rank






CurrentEmployees

PreviousEmployees

101 98 Foray Motor Group 120,568 427 12/14 113,511 409 448 428

102 113 Steven Eagell 119,546 2,112 12/14 94,885 1,929 279 242

103 83 The Harratts Group 117,099 -2,095 12/14 143,165 -3,319 245 313

104 115 Fish Brothers 116,187 2,129 12/14 93,451 1,996 258 248

105 105 Chorley Group 112,471 1,061 12/14 101,323 700 200 195

106 109 L&L Inc 108,628 1,808 12/14 99,055 1,913 156 150

107 106 WJ King (Garages) 107,764 2,269 04/14 101,253 2,249 330 359

108 114 Walter E Sturgess and Sons 106,819 1,307 12/14 94,159 1,073 267 261

109 107 Howard Garages 106,500 1,160 12/14 100,000 1,290 256 247

110 118 Ocean BMW (Grevan Cars) 105,273 249 12/14 90,901 525 258 225

111 139 JCB Medway 101,008 1,334 12/14 69,583 760 304 220

112 117 Martins Group 97,994 1,229 12/14 91,022 1,023 265 270

113 119 Mill Garages North East 97,775 803 12/14 80,946 752 176 173

114 121 Furrows Group 96,603 1,986 12/14 83,754 1,890 286 287

115 116 Gates Group 95,108 1,371 12/14 93,021 701 228 247

116 130 Go Motor Retailing 92,351 651 12/14 76,495 -486 232 186

117 125 Ocean Automotive 91,636 1,664 12/14 80,527 1,087 188 173

118 112 West London Motor Group 91,605 100 12/14 96,395 64 187 212

119 123 Cathedral Motor Company 91,142 1,539 12/14 80,651 1,815 235 222

120 135 Underwoods Garage 90,869 352 12/14 73,363 281 205 197

121 129 Central Garage (Uppingham) 90,259 525 04/14 78,799 513 209 210

122 138 Tanner Automotive 86,765 950 12/14 70,771 664 199 196

123 133 Pentagon Toyota (Burrows) 85,782 -63 12/14 73,533 208 329 291

124 120 City Motor Holdings 85,630 312 12/13 59,049 -191 243 157

125 108 Endeavour Automotive 6 (e) 84,750 n/a n/a (e) 75,000 n/a (e) 217 (e) 220

126 126 Gordon Lamb Holdings 84,034 2,118 12/14 80,261 1,479 184 178

127 128 Ancaster Group 83,844 1,147 12/14 69,886 805 194 188

128 122 Collier Motor Group 83,707 -632 12/14 81,445 12,560 228 240

129 134 Now Motor Retailing 82,270 909 12/14 73,465 1,220 270 248

130 140 DM Keith 82,200 1,290 12/14 69,243 1,237 206 166

131 127 Greenoaks (Maidenhead) 80,598 1,027 12/14 80,053 717 215 202

132 132 Bolton Car Centre 80,588 634 01/15 74,387 852 150 141

133 136 Desira Group plc 77,856 1,375 12/14 72,161 663 239 226

134 141 Border Cars 4 (e) 77,000 735 03/14 (e) 68,000 710 (e) 284 (e) 279

135 137 Worcester Car Sales 76,771 1,782 12/14 71,764 2,198 263 243

136 149 Sutton Park Motor Company 76,013 18 12/14 64,731 272 150 152

137 144 Hawco & Sons 75,116 420 12/14 66,685 779 188 171

138 142 Horizon-Magna Motor Group 74,933 1,671 04/15 68,139 1,696 220 221

139 145 Cameron Group 74,872 2,477 05/14 66,443 n/a 154 148

140 148 Cox Motor Group 73,634 1,478 12/14 64,827 1,480 228 214

141 153 Trust Group UK 71,329 1,331 12/14 61,134 962 228 213

142 147 Peter Cooper Motor Group 70,403 624 12/14 65,102 819 195 195

143 155 Birchwood Motor Group 68,744 436 12/14 61,041 52 135 120

144 150 Baylis (Gloucester) 68,619 214 12/14 64,579 293 267 263

145 162 Brayleys Cars 68,535 968 12/14 54,387 624 132 132

146 156 FG Barnes & Sons 64,252 386 12/14 60,592 876 200 196

147 160 Bussey & Sabberton Bros 63,009 1,353 12/14 56,209 1,318 226 218

148 165 Simon Bailes 62,614 336 12/14 48,993 1,178 101 99

149 152 Chapel House Holdings 61,852 2,905 05/15 62,834 2,450 196 195

150 158 Hawkins Motor Group 61,826 1,875 06/14 56,965 1,972 192 182



Daryl PimbleyHumphries & Parks Mitsubishi

“I have been using i-Control for a number of months now, and I have had several instances where the specific use of its market intelligence has led me to sell cars at a higher price than I would normally have done.”



MOTORTRADER TOP200

RankTop 200

Rank Company / GroupLatest Pre-tax

Profit (£000)Previous Pre-tax

Profit (£000) Change (£000)

1 1 Pendragon plc 64,600 38,900 +25,700

2 3 Arnold Clark Automobiles 107,282 85,170 +22,112

3 2 Sytner Group 90,000 71,000 +19,000

4 4 Lookers plc 59,200 43,900 +15,300

5 7 Jardine Motors Group 25,780 16,059 +9,721

6 8 Inchcape plc 21,685 15,152 +6,533

7 5 Vertu Motors plc 20,998 15,842 +5,156

8 9 TrustFord 7,208 2,378 +4,830

9 44 Allen Ford 6,786 2,619 +4,167

10 12 JCT 600 18,565 15,124 +3,441

11 18 Perrys Group 10,058 6,779 +3,279

12 11 Marshall Motor Holdings plc 11,460 8,291 +3,169

13 17 John Clark Motor Group 10,534 7,409 +3,125

14 63 Currie Motors 9,244 6,407 +2,837

15 27 Pentagon Holdings 4,065 1,404 +2,661

16 28 Rybrook Holdings 4,405 2,019 +2,386

17 20 Helston Garage Group 13,668 11,482 +2,186

18 31 Spire Automotive 7,139 4,972 +2,167

19 16 Ridgeway Group 10,302 8,169 +2,133

20 40 Halliwell Jones 4,683 2,708 +1,975

21 51 Drayton Group (Meteor) 4,565 2,744 +1,821

22 33 Dick Lovett Group 7,509 5,732 +1,777

23 23 Parks of Hamilton 16,049 14,293 +1,756

24 56 Porsche Retail Group 3,079 1,348 +1,731

25 57 CEM Day 9,017 7,354 +1,663

MT TOP 25 INCREASED PROFIT

Notes: 1. This table is based solely on those businesses for which figures were available excluding estimates 2. This tables only includes those groups reporting year-ends from June 2014 3. The results do not include increases from previous losses 4. These results do not generally take account of exceptional profits, although Caffyns was excluded because of a pension settlement

Further down the Motor Trader Top 200, Perrys Group (18) acquired GK Group (78 in last year’s Motor Trader Top 200) for an undisclosed sum, bringing its dealerships from 46 to 53.

In October 2015 Stoneacre (26) took over the £85m-turnover Huntson Holdings, which traded from a multi-franchise site in Chesterfield; the deal will mean that Stoneacre’s turnover will exceed £500 million for the first time.

Looking aheadThe listed groups have now announced their expectations for their 2015 full year trading which will define next year’s Motor Trader Top 200; even allowing for October’s first dip in new car registrations for 43 months, the outlook remains positive.

Pendragon announced in early November results for its third

quarter, saying they were in line with expectations for the full year, which were upgraded in August. Underlying Q3 2015 like-for-like profit before tax increased by 6.6%.

Fourth-placed Lookers’ Q3 interim report similarly spoke of “continued improvement in all areas of the business,” noting that used car and aftersales gross profits had risen 7% and 8% respectively, the latter benefiting from the growth in the sub-three year vehicle parc.

Fifth-placed Vertu Motors’ interim results for the six months ended 31 August 2015 saw revenues increase by 14%, and a record pre-tax profit, up 28.1% to £16.4m.

Cambria Automobiles (24) expects its results for the year to 31 August 2015, due to be announced on 24 November, to be ahead of revised market

served as Benfield’s chief executive. Lookers also sold its two used supermarket businesses in Q3 2015, so, although retaining its FPS independent aftermarket parts business, it is now a somewhat less diversified group than hitherto.

Motor Group (15 in the 2014 Motor Trader Top 200), announced in September. Benfield’s 30 dealerships increase Lookers’ portfolio to 150 franchise points. Nigel McMinn, the managing director of Looker’s motors division had previously

12

#11 Marshall Motor Turnover: £1.09bnPre-tax profit: £11.5mEmployees: 2,1602014 position: 10CEO: Daksh Gupta

TOP200MOTORTRADER

Annual Turnover (£'000)

Percentage of Total

Average Turnover per Group (£'000)

Top 10 groups 23,381,977 41.4% 2,338,198

No's 11 - 25 9,523,211 16.9% 634,881

No's 26 - 50 8,294,357 14.7% 331,774

No's 51 - 100 8,695,311 15.4% 173,906

No's 101 - 200 6,530,793 11.6% 65,308

Total MT Top 200 56,425,649 100.0% 282,128

POWER OF THE MT TOP 200 SUPER GROUPS

Note: This table includes estimates

As the Motor Trader Top 200 went to press Marshall Motor Holdings plc announced its £24.4m cash acquisition of SG Smith Holdings. Hence SG Smith is still listed here in 71st place with a turnover of £177.4m in 2014. The acquisition would have raised Marshall back up into this year’s top 10 with a turnover of £1.3bn. Marshall Group CEO, Daksh Gupta, said the acquisition was “in line with our stated strategy to grow scale with existing brand partners and expand our geographic footprint.”

Marshall Motor Holding plc

STOPPRESS

Citygate Volkswagen“Not only does the market intelligence that i-Control offers bring me a degreeof science to my car valuations and pricing, it has also proved very useful when negotiating part-exchange deals with my customers.”



Sponsored by

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CurrentEmployees

PreviousEmployees

151 159 EMG Anglia 61,339 1,101 12/14 56,681 939 223 221

152 154 Sherwoods 61,307 447 12/14 61,128 422 151 153

153 143 Wilson & Co 61,148 -621 12/14 66,891 885 213 233

154 163 Barnetts Motor Group 58,494 1,060 12/14 52,343 753 133 130

155 169 Carco Group 58,363 1,104 12/14 47,491 616 135 132

156 157 Hodgson Newcastle 58,199 1,148 12/14 58,341 1,284 173 173

157 166 FRF Toyota 56,438 2,296 12/14 48,661 1,852 151 140

158 171 Gravells 55,165 1,061 12/14 46,674 700 96 84

159 161 Slaters of Abergele 55,041 1,451 12/14 (e) 54,128 n/a 146 148

160 151 John Martin Group 54,012 25 12/14 63,103 -224 208 240

161 170 Dinnages 53,785 767 12/14 47,268 584 122 126

162 164 FRF Motors 53,213 1,459 12/14 51,245 1,102 106 106

163 168 OMC Motor Group 51,880 216 12/14 47,511 469 129 128

164 167 Startin Group 51,870 267 12/14 48,163 615 128 116

165 176 Springfield Motor Group 50,877 851 12/14 43,210 463 98 86

166 174 St Leonards Motors 49,390 90 12/14 45,037 125 167 170

167 173 RMB Automotive 47,094 304 12/14 45,060 604 153 147

168 183 Richmond Cars 47,044 680 03/14 39,475 447 112 88

169 175 Richard Hardie 47,034 418 12/14 44,802 371 116 105

170 177 Richard Sanders 46,500 1,120 07/15 43,300 1,130 104 105

171 172 M53 Motors 46,406 1,743 12/14 46,074 1,188 71 69

172 178 Mitchell Group 45,221 2,438 12/14 42,407 1,553 89 89

173 184 Masters of Beckenham 44,983 290 12/14 38,611 273 144 144

174 181 JT Hughes Oswestry 44,164 134 05/14 41,131 108 115 115

175 180 CCR Motor (ex Colt Cars Mid-West) 42,947 -2,155 03/14 41,801 -1,696 135 148

176 179 John Banks Group 42,291 1,124 12/14 42,131 1,044 121 124

177 182 Murkett Brothers 42,208 489 09/14 40,346 440 113 110

178 186 David Hayton 41,824 1,469 12/14 35,676 526 124 129

179 194 Ingram Motoring Group 40,696 117 12/14 32,050 384 98 83

180 188 Cars 2 40,394 725 12/14 36,287 720 113 113

181 187 Hylton Group 39,998 222 12/14 37,037 -292 107 122

182 NEW Wellington Motors 39,679 1,179 12/14 36,147 1,240 92 89

183 193 Jarretts Motors 39,394 439 12/13 32,262 125 90 80

184 185 Picador plc 38,767 473 03/14 37,982 275 125 124

185 NEW Dale's Central Motors 37,985 531 12/14 28,809 462 111 86

186 191 Holden & Holden 37,888 116 12/14 34,092 217 114 114

187 NEW Dingles Motor Group 35,205 -270 12/14 28,547 5 125 123

188 189 J&J Motors 34,876 509 06/14 27,352 349 80 72

189 195 Pye Motors 34,284 332 12/14 31,423 697 116 115

190 198 Cawdor Cars (Newcastle Emlyn) 34,244 612 04/14 30,396 643 104 105

191 200 Hammond Motor Group 32,323 351 12/14 29,158 233 155 155

192 199 Thames Honda 31,991 597 12/14 29,917 500 106 100

193 NEW Colin Appleyard 31,224 217 04/14 23,637 97 121 113

194 197 Dews Motor Group 30,487 84 12/13 28,626 -517 112 126

195 NEW Tustain Motors 30,464 409 12/14 29,379 447 79 76

196 NEW Rowes Garage 29,967 598 12/14 24,946 584 104 98

197 NEW TW White 29,901 130 04/14 25,690 207 89 88

198 NEW Chippenham Motor Company 4 (e) 29,687 n/a 03/15 24,812 655 55 60

199 NEW Northern Motors 29,316 58 12/14 19,922 53 95 82

200 NEW Corkills 29,027 191 12/14 27,345 82 62 59



Citygate Volkswagen“Not only does the market intelligence that i-Control offers bring me a degreeof science to my car valuations and pricing, it has also proved very useful when negotiating part-exchange deals with my customers.”



MOTORTRADER TOP200

RankTop 200

Rank Company / GroupLatest Turnover

(£000)Latest Pre-tax

Profit (£000)Return on Sales (%)

1 172 Mitchell Group 45,221 2,438 5.4%

2 63 Currie Motors 196,214 9,244 4.7%

3 149 Chapel House Holdings 61,852 2,905 4.7%

4 157 FRF Toyota 56,438 2,296 4.1%

5 57 CEM Day 223,081 9,017 4.0%

6 23 Parks of Hamilton 453,324 16,049 3.5%

7 178 David Hayton 41,824 1,469 3.5%

8 3 Arnold Clark Automobiles 3,265,412 107,282 3.3%

9 150 Hawkins Motor Group 61,826 1,875 3.0%

10 182 Wellington Motors 39,679 1,179 3.0%

11 20 Helston Garage Group 471,435 13,668 2.9%

12 70 Hatfields (McLean & Appleton) 177,792 5,152 2.9%

13 162 FRF Motors 53,213 1,459 2.7%

14 176 John Banks Group 42,291 1,124 2.7%

15 49 Westover Holdings 249,385 6,418 2.6%

16 126 Gordon Lamb Holdings 84,034 2,118 2.5%

17 87 John Grose Group 149,761 3,627 2.4%

18 2 Sytner Group 3,726,000 90,000 2.4%

19 170 Richard Sanders 46,500 1,120 2.4%

20 73 Yeomans 172,430 4,124 2.4%

21 82 Lifestyle Europe 157,185 3,701 2.4%

22 44 Allen Ford 290,568 6,786 2.3%

23 55 Peoples 236,700 5,508 2.3%

24 135 Worcester Car Sales 76,771 1,782 2.3%

25 46 Hartwell plc 261,128 5,919 2.3%

MT TOP 25 RETURN ON SALES

Notes: 1. This table is based solely on those businesses for which figures were available excluding estimates 2. This tables only includes those groups reporting year-ends from June 2014 3. These results do not generally take account of exceptional profits, although Slaters of Abergele and Caffyns were excluded because of pension settlements and M53 for a VAT refund

expectations, with trading in the first 11 months “substantially ahead of the corresponding period in 2013-14 on both a total and a like-for-like basis”, and with gross profit per retail unit improving by 15.3% (like-for-like up 1.6%) and aftersales hours sold up 8% (like-for-like up 1.6%). Cambria expects to announce its preliminary results for the year to 31 August 2015 on 24 November.

The multi-franchise Glyn Hopkin (35) recently announced a 58% year-on-year increase in first-half 2015 pre-tax profits on turnover

their annual reports to air some of the grievances they have with their manufacturer partners.

One Ford dealer, M53 Motors (171) made mention of the FordStore programme, from which the group had been excluded as a main dealer, which it saw as detrimental to the business. This prompted it to openly declare that Ford’s UK volume ambitions were “at times unrealistic”, commenting that self-registrations were creating a “false position”.

St Leonards Motors (166) singled out Nissan and Vauxhall for similar volume criticism, noting that Toyota was more rational in its ambitions, whilst a number of Honda dealers bemoaned the marque’s lack of new product in 2014.

Knights Group (67) did not expect supply-demand conditions to improve in 2015, and made

up 25.47% to £219.2m. The group’s unit new vehicle sales rose 19.81% to exceed 8,300 and used rose 5.8% to 5,009. Aftersales revenue for the period rose 23.3% and profit by 18.72%. Turnover for the full year 2015 is estimated to exceed £400m.

Dealer grievancesAlthough most of the Motor Trader Top 200 groups were satisfied with their performance in 2014 and the outlook for 2015 is good, a number of groups used

14

#16 Ridgeway Turnover: £647.6mPre-tax profit: £10.3mEmployees: 1,1382014 position: 16CEO: John O’Hanlon

TOP200MOTORTRADER

We would like to thank the companies that supplied the information required for this survey – a record number for recent years. For the companies that declined to take part we again referred to Companies House for the latest data available and applied estimates where applicable. All estimates (marked ‘e’) in the Motor Trader Top 200 are therefore based on previously recorded information and reflect average changes in market conditions. If information was unavailable we have entered ‘n/a’.

We have worked hard to ensure the accuracy of the Motor Trader Top 200, but if you believe your information is incorrect, or you have been missed out, please let us know and we shall make sure the questionnaire is mailed to you next time. Finally we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of these data. However responsibility for how the information is used rests entirely with the user.

Research and methodology

Matthew BavinPentagon Lincoln

“This is the first time I have used i-Control and I’m blown away by it,I think it’s fantastic.”



RankTop 200 Rank Company / Group

Latest Pre-tax Profit (£000)

Latest Employees

Profit per Employee (£)

1 172 Mitchell Group 2,438 89 27,391

2 63 Currie Motors 9,244 473 19,543

3 57 CEM Day 9,017 531 16,981

4 20 Helston Garage Group 13,668 880 15,532

5 157 FRF Toyota 2,296 151 15,207

6 149 Chapel House Holdings 2,905 196 14,821

7 70 Hatfields (McLean & Appleton) 5,152 355 14,513

8 55 Peoples 5,508 395 13,944

9 162 FRF Motors 1,459 106 13,769

10 33 Dick Lovett Group 7,509 556 13,505

11 2 Sytner Group 90,000 6,800 13,235

12 182 Wellington Motors 1,179 92 12,811

13 23 Parks of Hamilton 16,049 1,267 12,667

14 62 City West Country 4,486 366 12,257

15 31 Spire Automotive 7,139 600 11,899

16 178 David Hayton 1,469 124 11,851

17 51 Drayton Group (Meteor) 4,565 387 11,795

18 3 Arnold Clark Automobiles 107,282 9,184 11,681

19 56 Porsche Retail Group 3,079 264 11,663

20 106 L&L Inc 1,808 156 11,591

21 126 Gordon Lamb Holdings 2,118 184 11,511

22 73 Yeomans 4,124 364 11,331

23 158 Gravells 1,061 96 11,048

24 35 Glyn Hopkin 6,286 580 10,838

25 170 Richard Sanders 1,120 104 10,769

MT TOP 25 PROFIT PER EMPLOYEE

Notes: 1. This table is based solely on those businesses for which figures were available excluding estimates 2. This tables only includes those groups reporting year-ends from June 2014 3. These results do not generally take account of exceptional profits, although Caffyns was excluded because of a pension settlement and M53 for a VAT refund

£0.5m provision for demonstrator depreciation.

Meanwhile, Barnetts Motor Group (154) summed up the impact of over-supply with some eloquence: “2014 was generally a good year for the business and the industry in general…whilst the new car market statistics show a continued upward trend in registrations, most manufacturers have used this, together with the strength of the Euro, to push ever-increasing targets onto their UK dealer networks in an effort to maintain or grow their market share…whilst we have been relatively unaffected by this so far and have pre-registered very few cars over the last year – except when it suited us to do so tactically or financially, it is clear there is significant pre-registration activity across many brand networks as dealers fight to stay on the bonus levels needed to make their business profitable. The number of nearly new cars in dealer stocks is making it difficult to sell genuine ex-demonstrators profitably and we have seen a decline in margin on demonstrators in the past year.”

Final thoughtsThe Motor Trader Top 200 groups are the champions of efficiency among European dealer networks. Not only have they been leading the charge in consolidation of network ownership, but they have done so in the past two years against a backdrop of increasing overall franchised sales outlet numbers, as manufacturers have fought for shares of the re-growth of the new car market since the recession.

The number of UK franchised sales outlets grew 1% from 4,532 in January 2014 to 4,599 in January 2015, according to

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research for the 2015 edition of the European Car Distribution Handbook. That growth followed a 1% rise in 2013 to 4,487 with the ICDP finding that UK dealers sold a lot more cars per site than their European counterparts – an average of 537 (2014: 488) compared to just 326 sold by the best-performing continental networks in France.

In practical terms, the UK networks’ superior

efficiency translated into some positive

financial rewards, according to mid-year analysis by ASE, the dealer

profitability specialist. June

was reported to have reversed a recent

decline in the overall rolling 12-month profitability for the average UK franchised dealership, thanks to strong vehicle sales and Q2 new volume bonuses, although ASE chairman Mike Jones said RoS remained under pressure.

“Used car retail profits remained strong with us seeing no sign of panic selling hitting residual values and driving down prices,” he said.

“The used car result shows the self-registered vehicles are being remarketed effectively, albeit we remain concerned over the level of nearly-new stock still to be sold which is currently depressing the used car return on investment.”

The 2015 Motor Trader Top 200 shows a sector in good health against a backdrop of rising turnover, profit and showroom numbers as the country’s best performing groups maximised each of their revenue streams rather than being heavily dependent on just one. The headway achieved in 2014 should prove to be a sound basis for next year’s Motor Trader Top 200.

Chris Oakham and Toby Procter are directors of Trend Tracker, the independent automotive research company

Matthew BavinPentagon Lincoln

“This is the first time I have used i-Control and I’m blown away by it,I think it’s fantastic.”


www.motortrader.comwww.motortrader.com

MOTORTRADER TOP20016

Karolina Edwards-Smajda

In last month’s Motor Trader, we recognised four independent dealers based on their outstanding achievements in each of the key areas that contribute to the Auto Trader Four Pillars of digital retailing. Now, for this first time,

we are doing the same for franchised dealers.The Auto Trader Franchised Dealer Excellence

Awards, are designed to recognise and celebrate the sector’s digital pioneers.

Auto Trader, as the UK’s largest online marketplace for new and used vehicles, has unique access to a wealth of data which we use to determine what makes a successful car retailer.

We believe that success is built on four key pillars – buying, selling, marketing and managing. Good retailers buy in-demand stock at the right price.

The inaugural Auto Trader Franchised Dealer Excellence Awards recognises best practice across the four pillars of buying, selling, marketing and managing used car stock

They effectively market their business across all platforms, focusing on transparency and building trust, and regularly re-price stock to maximise speed of sale and profitability. Getting these elements right means a business is well on the way to being recognised. It also helps businesses meet current and future opportunities in the retail motor sector. At Auto Trader, we’re celebrating franchised retailers who have demonstrated excellence in the four pillars. When looking for our winners, we wanted to know:

The Buying PillarAre the models on your forecourt desirable to car buyers in your area? How do you work with manufacturers to make a profit and sell quickly? Do you check prices carefully to ensure you pay a market appropriate price for that part exchange?

The Selling PillarIs your stock presentation optimised? Are your images clear, plentiful and attractive? Do you pay sufficient attention to descriptions? Do you take steps to appear in as many consumer searches as possible?

The Marketing PillarIs your website optimised for mobile? Does it work on all the devices consumers are using to search? Does your site engender trust? Are you employing the full arsenal of tools to boost your marketing potential, such as re-targeting, SEO and PPC? Do you use social media to help your business?

The Managing PillarAre all steps taken to manage your forecourt intelligently? Are prices constantly monitored to align with what’s actually happening? Are there vehicles on the forecourt taking up space that should perhaps be traded out?

We are proud to honour the following who have clearly demonstrated their success in one or more of these key pillars.

Karolina Edwards-Smajda is the Retailer and Consumer Products Director at Auto Trader

Auto Trader Buying Award TrustFord IlfordThe Ford Motor Company-owned TrustFord operates 65 sites across the UK making it the largest dedicated Blue Oval network in the world. The network was rebranded in 2014 and acts as a showcase for the country’s best-selling car brand.

The sheer scale of the operation means it is in an ideal position to source the stock it knows its customers want.

“Winning this award means a great deal to all of

BEST BUYER: TrustFord’s sales director David Cox

SOLID BASE: The Auto Trader Franchised Dealer Excellence Awards acknowledge the car retailers who excel across buying, selling, marketing and managing

Auto Trader’s 4 pillars of digital retailing


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us at TrustFord. It comes at the end of a period of significant transformation throughout our business, which has not only seen a national rebrand to TrustFord, but also considerable investment in many different elements of our operation,” said David Cox, TrustFord’s sales director.

“This has included new network-wide processes which ensure the right product is in the right place at the right time, as well as innovative new technology that guarantees valuations of part-exchange vehicles are fair and reflect their true market value.

“These initiatives have been coupled with the recruitment of a team of talented individuals, who together with an experienced buying team has worked hard over the past 12 months to deliver exceptional levels of customer care. The recognition for these efforts from such a prestigious organisation is something we’re all hugely proud of,” he said.

TrustFord’s consistency and attention to detail impressed the Auto Trader judging panel.

Buying stock that your customers are looking for can be an art, but with real time data, it has now become more of a science. Cars that are in high demand locally sell quicker and can offer better returns. Understanding desirability in your area is critical and means you know which cars buyers are most interested in - in your area so that you can stock them. Using live data can help you ‘buy smarter’ and make the right stock purchases.

Successful franchises are those who have adopted a data-led approach to buying to fill their forecourts with the right stock at the right price. Trust Ford Ilford has managed to continually do this, Auto Trader i-Control experts recommend selecting vehicles with a desirability of 3.5 and over – and Trust Ford Ilford has achieved a stock level consistently above this level, throughout the whole of 2015.

Auto Trader Selling Award Nissan London WestSituated alongside the A40 Western Avenue in Acton, Nissan London West is part of the Nissan Retail Group and is one of the brand’s largest dealerships in Europe. Its showroom can display 20 cars and its forecourt up to 100 CARED4 approved used cars.

The location of this flagship London showroom makes it one of the most successful Nissan sites in the country. The business has excelled in delivering customers a first class online experience, which has

been acknowledged by Auto Trader’s Selling Award.The face of auto retailing has changed. Buyers

are better informed than they have ever been. With forecourt visits falling by 41% this year, buyers are doing all their research online and increasingly outside normal business hours, so focusing on generating adviews, the virtual walk around of a specific vehicle, has never been more important. Throughout 2015, Nissan London West has managed to consistently achieve high advert quality scores with high image and attention grabbing penetration. Its use of lead generator products has ensured adverts continually perform well, attracting a high number of adviews. When paired with a reliably high response rate to all enquires, it has resulted in a winning formula for Nissan London West.

Auto Trader Managing Award Clark MotorchoiceEdinburgh’s Clark Motorchoice is the single-site multi-marque used car operation run by the John Clark Motor Group, one of Scotland’s most successful franchised groups.

Stock management is central to the success of the business and where better to source cars from than the part-exchanges generated by the group’s 27 franchised showrooms?

“Ninty-nine per cent of stock comes through the group, we get the best first selection of all the part-exchanges across all the different franchises. We pick the cars that we know our customers want to buy and make sure they are sensibly priced and well presented,” said Stuart Mackinnon, John Clark Motor Group’s used car manager.

The site typically has 80 cars in stock, has a 45-day stock-turn target and aims to sell around 50 a month. Prices are reviewed every Thursday ahead of the busy weekend sales period.

Managing your forecourt in the most successful way is a must. Reviewing what you’re buying, how you’re pricing it, and aligning it to the constantly changing live market can dramatically impact the success of your business. Sometimes that means disposing of an overage vehicle quickly rather than waiting for that perfect buyer to arrive.

Using i-Control to manage its forecourt, Clark Motorchoice has

continually improved price position of their stock whilst consistently maintaining high speed of sale, resulting in Clark Motorchoice being crowned the winner of the Auto Trader Managing Award.

Auto Trader Marketing Award Peter Vardy GroupPeter Vardy Group is one of the fastest growing groups in the UK, operating 12 dealerships in Scotland evenly split between its Vauxhall volume operations and prestige sites representing Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche, BMW and Mini.

Central to the group’s success is the way it markets its used car business.

“In the past 12 months our used car marketing activity has shifted to an almost entirely digital focus. We have found that digital enquiries on specific used cars from classified sites convert much higher than general enquiries. We have been working closely with Auto Trader in 2015 to increase the quality of our used car listings; looking at photographs, descriptions and pricing in particular,” said Euan Cameron, Peter Vardy’s head of digital and e-commerce.

“This year we have invested in more frequent macro and micro TV bookings with STV and Sky Adsmart to drive additional web visits and we successfully correlate the ad slots to web sessions in Google Analytics. This has been instrumental in driving additional website enquiries.”

Peter Vardy’s sophisticated approach to digital marketing was singled out by Auto Trader.

Today, marketing effectively isn’t just about classified listings, it’s about creating a great user experience across all channels. Retailers need to present and promote all the information potential buyers are looking for, consistently across all

devices, to ensure they stand out from their competition. When finding a worthy winner for the Auto Trader Marketing Award, it was essential that the retailer or group displayed an integrated and consumer focused strategy as well showing innovation in the segment. Peter

Vardy exhibited all of this and more, with a clear and focused strategy around its display

and social activity. However, the great experience isn’t limited to digital;

Peter Vardy has also invested in an innovative and enjoyable showroom experience to give

consumers the type of service they increasingly expect.

BEST SELLER: Nissan London West is one of the biggest Nissan sites in Europe

BEST MARKETING: Euan Cameron, Peter Vardy Group’s head of digital and e-commerce

BEST MANAGING: Clark Motorchoice is John Clark Motor Group’s successful multi-marque used car site in Edinburgh













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DECEMBER 2015 TOP - Autoactu.com · Sell more cars, faster with i-Control 94621.001 Motor Trader Dec Ad_FC_Supplement_aw1.indd 1 02/12/2015 12:16 TOP THE AWARD-WINNING VOICE OF THE