Auto Trader buyout pushed debt to £1bn
AUTO Trader’s net debt has jumped to nearly £1bn since Guardian Media Group sold its 50.1% stake to fellow shareholder Apax Partners.
But accounts filed at Companies House for Auto Trader Group the year to March show its switch to digital has paid off with underlying earnings up 7% to £140m.
The accounts show debt grew from £562m to £978m following a refinancing which Apax carried out to help fund the deal.
Guardian Media Group, which owns The Guardian newspaper, made £691m from the exit.
Auto Trader, which lists vehicles online, has a major base in Manchester after moving 600 staff from five North West offices to No 1 First Street.
The company, which ended its print edition last year, said revenues increased by 9% to £237.7m. Pre-tax profits were squeezed by higher interest payments and an exceptional £26.9m write-down, falling to £3.7m from £22.8m.
The Manchester move and a similar relocation of southern operations to a central office in London has cost the group £7.4m in redundancy payments, onerous leases, move costs, and asset write-offs. Around £3.8m was associated with Manchester.
The number of unique visitors to the website increased by 41% to 3.8 million a month while the stock of vehicles on display rose by 8% to 392,000. Auto Trader said new car sales hit a 10-year high in March and used car sales were set to exceed seven million in 2014 for the first time in six years.
Chairman Ed Williams said: “The strength of our business and our proposition to our customers have shone through during this last 12 months of substantial change. Our digital operating profits reached a new record high along with a record margin and excellent cash conversation.”
