VERTU Motors, the car dealer behind Bristol Street Motors, today showed it is possible to turn a profit from the trade even as rivals struggle.
The lockdown has biffed the sector with Pendragon taking a big Coronavirus hit, though it too returned to profit in the summer.
Vertu made a profit of £4.7 million in the half-year on sales of £1.1 billion from 135 outlets.
September saw record trade as Brits got back on the road.
Robert Forrester, chief executive, said: "The energised Vertu team delivered a safe operating environment for customers and colleagues and an outstanding trading performance as lockdown was eased. Individual records in used cars, aftersales and new cars were set across the Group. We did the basics well and have increased investment in omni-channel technology, which has been received enthusiastically by customers.”
Chairman Andy Goss said the results are “arguably better than other publicly quoted motor retails groups”.
Vertu Motors shares open today at 31.5p at which price the business is valued at £116 million.
