A Lookers Land Rover dealership has been crowned Sales Retailer of the Year after its first full year of trading from a new showroom.
The dealership in Colchester has been awarded the title by Jaguar Land Rover as part of its annual Retailer Awards, which recognise excellent service across its network.
Land Rover Colchester also came in 5th place for the overall Retailer of the Year and in the top 10 for Customer Satisfaction.
Such recognition is all the more impressive as the new site on Axial Way was only opened in November 2017.
The £7m investment in the new retail environment has given customers the opportunity to enjoy an enhanced experience and the perfect space to discover the Land Rover range. With the move to the new site, additional jobs have also been created, with 65 members of staff now employed and future plans to expand the team further.
The investment saw the dealership move from its former address on Cowdray Avenue to the new address on Axial Way, which now provides space for nine used car models, 55 used cars and 17 repair and maintenance bays.
It also provides customers with 35 dedicated parking bays and a further 110 parking bays to the rear of the site.
Visitors can expect an even greater choice of Land Rover at the Colchester site over the coming months, with new models including the New Range Rover Evoque, and, further down the line, the new Defender, as well as the first wave of purely battery electric models in 2020.
On winning the award, Head of Business Martin Shepard, said: “We are delighted to have received the Sales Retailer of the Year Award so soon after opening the new showroom here on Axial Way. While this fabulous building is a pleasure for our customers to visit, it is really the high level of service and the people we have here that keeps them coming back.
“Our mission is to delight our customers, not just with our vehicles but at every point at which we make contact with them. It is a culture of driving business excellence to achieve our ambitious goals.”
2019 Interim Results
2019 Interim Results
Lookers plc, (“Lookers” or “the Group”), one of the leading UK motor retail and aftersales service groups, announces its unaudited results for the six months ended 30 June 2019 (“H1”, “first half” or “the Period”).
Key financials:
| HY2019 | HY2018*** | Var % | FY2018*** | |
| Revenue £m | 2,646.4 | 2,576.5 | +2.7% | 4,879.5 |
| Underlying profit before tax £m* | 29.2 | 40.3 | -27.5% | 53.9 |
| Profit before tax (“PBT”) £m | 24.9 | 41.3 | -39.7% | 48.6 |
| Net debt £m** | 73.9 | 54.5 | -35.6% | 86.9 |
| Underlying basic earnings per share (p)* | 6.06p | 8.59p | -29.5% | 11.22p |
| Basic earnings per share (p) | 5.17p | 8.80p | -41.3% | 10.12p |
| Dividend per share (p) | 1.48p | 1.48p | - | 4.08p |
* PBT before property disposals, share based compensation, defined benefit pension enhanced past service costs, provision for the restructure of regulated activities, net interest on pension scheme obligations and debt issue costs
** Excluding lease liabilities under IFRS16
*** Restated for first time adoption of IFRS 16 (see note 1) and reclassification of amortisation of on intangible assets to underlying earnings
Highlights:
- Increase in total revenue of 2.7% with growth in both used cars and aftersales. Like-for-like revenue growth of 0.1%
- Underlying PBT of £29.2m, down -27.5% reflecting a challenging UK market backdrop
- Continued outperformance of the UK new car market. New car unit like-for-like sales down -1.2% versus UK market decline of -3.4%
- Resilient aftersales performance with like-for-like revenue growth of 6.2%
- Restructure and strengthening of regulated activities. One off investment identified of approximately £10.0m, creating a stable platform for future growth and an enhanced customer experience. Remediation plan well underway
- Strong balance sheet with net debt of £73.9m (2018: £54.5m) down from £86.9m at 31 December 2018
- Interim dividend maintained at 1.48p (H1 2018: 1.48p)
- Valuable property portfolio with a net book value £312.1m of freehold and leasehold property (net book value 80p per share)
Andy Bruce, Chief Executive of Lookers, said:
“Our performance for the first half reflects an ongoing backdrop of challenging UK market conditions for the sector. Whilst we are reporting lower profits year-on-year, we have made good progress on a number of strategic initiatives and have a clear investment plan to restructure and strengthen our regulated activities. Our balance sheet remains strong including our valuable property portfolio. Working closely with our brand partners I am confident in the long-term prospects for the business. The Board’s current outlook for the full year at the underlying profit before tax level remains unchanged”.
There will be an analyst presentation today at 9.30am, taking place at MHP Communications, 6 Agar Street, London, WC2N 4HN. The presentation will also be accessible via a live conference call for registered participants. To register for the call please contact MHP Communications on +44 (0)20 3128 8742, or by email on lookers@MHPC.com.
- 02 April 2019
- Corporate Social Responsibility &
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