Brindley Group increased pre-tax profit in 2025 as fleet sales, aftersales growth and investment in Chinese brands helped offset pressure on operating margins.
The business increased pre-tax profit by 2.1% to £3.30 million in the year to November 30, 2025, as growth in fleet sales, aftersales and new Chinese brand partnerships supported performance despite a challenging UK market.
The AM100 dealer group’s strategic report described 2025 as a year of significant change for the UK automotive industry, highlighting the arrival of new Chinese manufacturers and saying the business was well positioned to benefit from expanding relationships with brands including Omoda Jaecoo, Chery, Changan and Xpeng, alongside Kia, Hyundai, MG, Mazda and Honda.
Fleet retail sales increased by 33.7% to 5,209 units, from 3,897 the previous year, while aftersales gross profit grew by 5.4% and retail hours sold rose to 46,457 from 43,313.
New retail sales declined to 3,107 units from 3,287 and used retail sales slipped to 4,891 from 5,064.
Despite the increase in pre-tax profit, operating profit fell 18.6% to £3.16m, from £3.88m, as administrative expenses increased faster than gross profit.
Revenue rose 3.5% to £309.4m, from £299.0m, while gross profit increased 2.3% to £21.1m.
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Aftersales delivered strong performance
The group said its aftersales division delivered a particularly strong performance despite ongoing pressure from the growing proportion of electric vehicles (EVs), alongside the introduction of new manufacturers with relatively small vehicle parcs in the UK.
The accounts also detailed the group’s exit from the Volvo franchise during the year after the manufacturer brought forward the termination date following Brindley’s request to sell the business to a third party.
While initially disappointing, the directors said the move created opportunities through the availability of a prime showroom location and strengthened the group’s confidence in its expanding portfolio of emerging brands.
Looking ahead, Brindley said trading in the opening months of 2026 had been ahead of the equivalent period last year despite continued economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
The group has already invested in its second Omoda Jaecoo location, alongside an additional site for Chery and preparations for the introduction of Leapmotor to its franchise portfolio.