By Guy Taylor
Vertu Motors boss Robert Forrester has said the car dealership is pursuing more acquisitions after it reported record revenues and a bumper dividend in its interim results.
Speaking to City A.M. following the announcement, Robert Forrester said the company had a “pipeline” of acquisitions and was working closely with manufacturers “wherever they want us to expand”.
“So there’s quite a bit of portfolio development and expansion to come.”
Revenues grew over 20 per cent to a record £2.4bn in the six months leading up to August, which the group said was aided by recent deals.
Sales of new cars increased by 20.8 per cent to 51,488, while used cars rose modestly by 2.1 per cent, to 43,921.
The bumper results led the dealership to hike its shareholder dividend by 21 per cent to 0.85p per share, while adjusted pretax profits rose to £31.5m.
It comes as UK car dealerships continue to rake in strong profits on the back of soaring post-pandemic demand, an easing of supply chain issues and inflation in the price of new and second-hand vehicles.
Vertu Motors has been on an expansion drive over the last year and its shares are up 61 per cent since January.
In December the dealership snapped up Cornwall’s Helston Garages in a £182m acquisition, which it said today had added 28 sales outlets to the group.
Forrester told City A.M. the Helston purchase had been a “key” driver of growth while “pent-up demand” for its products “and to some degree demand for battery electric vehicles” had also played an important role.
Yet in a six-month review of the firm’s performance, he also raised concerns over the government’s “confusing” messaging on electrification, highlighting the recent delay to the 2030 petrol and car ban.
He told City A.M. “muted retail” demand for electric vehicles had been “exacerbated by the fact that the Prime Minister broadly gave the outline that there wasn’t a ban, which was not really true.”
