Luxury car sales fuel Pendragon rise
LUXURY cars are leading a recovery in forecourt sales, according to Pendragon, owner of the Jaguar, Maserati and Mercedes-Benz specialist Stratstone chain.
Pendragon saw a 48 per cent rise in first-half profit to £15.7m. Stratstone outperformed the market with a 20 per cent rise in new car sales, while total revenues jumped 24.1 per cent year-on-year.
Pendragon posted gross profits of £93.9m for the first half, up from £84.4m a year earlier.
Chief executive Trevor Finn said: “All our premium brands are bouncing back.
“Stratstone has seen a V-shaped recovery. It began to decline in June 2008, about three
months earlier than the volume car market, as business people became nervous about their prospects. But now it is leading the charge on profitability.
“It’s a barometer of business confidence – optimism is returning to the market and business people feel confident about changing their cars.”
The firm also sells mass-market Fords and Vauxhalls through its Evans Halshaw and Chatfields dealerships. It said prices would remain stable despite a rise in VAT.