Lookers plc, the UK car-dealing giant, has posted record profits, saying the spectre of Brexit has yet to weigh on its sales and plans.
Lookers owns several key dealerships in both the Republic and Northern Ireland. These include Audi South Dublin, a large car supermarket in Kingswood, and the 20-acre Charles Hurst operation in Belfast, which counts among its many outlets the only Ferrari, Aston Martin, Bentley and Maserati dealerships on this island.
For the first half of 2016, Lookers recorded a 16 per cent year-on-year increase in pre-tax profit of £50 million (€58 million), from a 33 per cent increase in sales revenue of £2.34 billion (€2.72 billion).
In a statement, the company said that it was looking at “acquiring an additional premium-branded car dealership business, details of which it hopes to announce shortly”.
Lookers recently spent £55 million purchasing UK-based Mercedes specialist Drayton Group. It also sold its in-house parts business for £120 million (€139.5 million).
Leading market position
As for its plans in the Republic of Ireland, Lookers says it is happy with existing operations.
Chief executive Andy Bruce told The Irish Times that "we have for many years been building a strong, leading position in the new and used car market in Ireland, with a keen focus on growing our successful Audi South Dublin dealership.
“The new Charles Hurst pre-owned car centre, Usedirect, which opened last year at Kingswood on the Naas Road, continues to benefit from increasing customer growth and retention.”
Concerns about any effect on the business as a result of the UK’s decision to leave the EU are, for now, being batted away.
While Lookers chairman Phil White said the referendum result has "created a degree of uncertainty in the UK economy, it is fair to say that we have not noticed any significant difference in terms of customer behaviour so far, particularly in respect of orders for new and used cars."
As for opening more operations in the Republic, last year the company openly stated an interest in launching a Dublin-based satellite of the Belfast empire, dedicated to Maserati. The worldwide fall-off in Maserati sales appears to have pushed that idea to the back-burner, for now.
