Honda deal revs up sales at Phoenix

Published on Sunday 16 November 2008 20:52

PHOENIX Car Company, the Paisley-based car dealership chain, has posted bumper full-year sales "in a marketplace that was struggling for growth".

Annual accounts for the privately-owned company show turnover rising almost 30 per cent to 148.5 million in the year to 31 January.

Sales were boosted by the acquisition of the Hyndland Honda franchise. Phoenix, whose other brands include Kia and BMW, described the purchase as an "exciting opportunity for us to grow our market share".

Although operating profits rose slightly to 1.7m, profit before tax reversed to just 227,213 from 784,495 last time. Prior to that, the group had booked a pre-tax profit of just over 1m. Margins in the motor retail industry – one of the sectors worst affected by the credit crunch – are traditionally wafer thin.

The accounts also reveal that charitable contributions rose to a substantial 176,172 from 126,676 in 2007. Separately, the firm said it had made a 9,000 donation to the Labour Party.

Writing in their annual report, Phoenix's directors said: "We have continued with our policy of taking the long view with our people and our 'Managers of the Future' programme is proving to be very successful."

Recent figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed new-car sales in October had fallen to their lowest level since 1991. The 23 per cent slide in registrations prompted calls for government intervention to help entice consumers back into the showroom.