Car dealership group accelerates to record performance

Motorpoint Group is back in the driving seat after enjoying a record performance since reopening.

The Derby-headquartered car sales group now expects its full-year figures to be “significantly ahead of its expectations”.

Pre-tax profits for the six months to September were up around 40% on the same period for the past two years as it earned £13.5m.

Growth in revenues accelerated even faster, up 56% to £605m – which is also £70m higher than before the pandemic.

Motorpoint chief executive Mark Carpenter said: “The first half of the year marked a record performance for the group. While we have naturally benefited from favourable market conditions, we have also had to contend with unprecedented vehicle inflation and widely documented shortages in available stock which undoubtedly limited our revenue and profit growth.

“In the end, it is our market share gains which demonstrate the unique strengths of our model.”

Motorpoint also revealed that its long-standing chairman Mark Morris will retire in January and be replaced by veteran retailer John Walden.

Walden is currently chairman of the owner of Yo! group and has previously held the same role at Naked Wines and the parent company of Holland & Barrett International.

His appointment is part of Motorpoint’s strategy to become a digitally-led business. Walden will be joined in early 2022 by Boohoo’s group e-commerce director Andrew Thomson, who will become chief digital officer at Motorpoint.