Car retail group Vertu says it has seen a significant rise in new car sales, with particular growth in the key March market.
In a trading update ahead of its AGM, Gateshead-based Vertu highlighted a 7% rise in new care sales in the the three months to the end of May. Those figuers outperformed the Ƶ retail market as a whole and saw Vertu gain market share.
Other parts of the company’s business fell, however, with a 23.2% drop in like-for-like sales in its Motability division and a 3.8% decrease in used vehicle sales. Fleet and commercial sales grew by 3% on a like-for-like basis and volumes in its high margin service division were up 4.1%.
Vertu said it was encouraged by its start to the 2026 financial year and anticipated that its full year results would be in line with current market expectations. Adjusted profit before tax remained ahead of previous levels, it said.
Chief executive officer Robert Forrester said: “Since the beginning of the financial year, a period which includes the important trading month of March, the group has traded well in a challenging macro-economic environment. New retail volumes are up materially with the group benefiting from market share gains, and our high margin aftersales business continues its out-performance.
“This encouraging start to the year is balanced by ongoing headwinds of a challenging consumer and business environment and the Government’s ZEV mandate promoting accelerated electric car adoption.”
Vertu, which has nearly 200 sites around the Ƶ, warned in February that it would have to reduce its workforce and close most of its showrooms on Sundays after minimum wage and National Insurance rises added £10m to its costs. But at the same time as announcing the cuts, it also said it would spend £12m on share buyback scheme for investors.
In today’s update, Vertu said that it had so far spent £4.5m in the share buyback programme, leaving £7.5m to deploy. Since it started buying back shares in 2018, 18.5% of the group’s issued share capital had been repurchased.
Vertu also hinted at a continuation of its acquisition programme, saying that it was “well positioned with stable management and a very strong balance sheet with low gearing to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.”
