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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
National
Karen Antcliff

Nottingham car retail giant Pendragon’s five-year plan to boost profits

Nottingham’s second-largest company has announced its five-year plan to boost profitability.

Pendragon revealed its three-point "ambitious but achievable plan" which it says will transform the business.

The firm said it plans to "unlock value" in the franchised UK motor division, grow and diversify its Pinewood brand and "disrupt" standalone used cars.

It hopes that the strategy will help it achieve underlying pre-tax profits of between £85 million and £90 million by 2025.

In July this year, the firm announced that almost 2,000 jobs were set to go as it looked to close stores and streamline its operations in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Now, the firm, which owns Stratstone, Evans Halshaw, Car Store, Pinewood, Quickco and Pendragon Vehicle Management, says its new strategy would save around £37 million.

Pendragon is the second-largest motor retailer in the UK.

The firm said that over the next five years it would be targeting the development of eight physical locations at an approximate capital cost of £7.5 million per site.

A new Porsche showroom and service centre are to be built on a cleared site west of Melton Road and north of the Wheatcroft Island.

The showroom is intended to replace the Porsche dealership at Nottingham's Riverside Retail Park, which will continue to run as normal for the time being

A statement from the firm said: "There is significant opportunity to unlock value in UK motor, to accelerate Pinewood's geographic expansion and diversification into new products and to disrupt standalone used car sales in the UK.

"We believe this an ambitious plan but is achievable through the delivery of the initiatives we have set out."

Chief executive Bill Berman said: "We firmly believe the three strategic priorities will provide a platform to transform the group's performance, leading to sustainable profit growth and delivering attractive returns for our shareholders.

"Critically, our strategy is designed to equip the business to react to changing consumer patterns in the years ahead and ensuring, in particular, that we are well-positioned to take advantage of digital innovation.

"Pendragon has grown to become a leading motor retail group with a strong network of dealerships.

"Throughout my years in the automotive industry, I have seen, and responded to, major shifts in consumer habits and market dynamics.

"I am confident we can unlock the full potential of Pendragon by delivering targeted improvements to our people, our systems and our operations."

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