Motor dealer Greenhous announces pre-tax loss but declares itself satisfied with performance

SHROPSHIRE-based motor dealer Greenhous has announced a pre-tax loss of £154,000 in its latest set of accounts.

The company operates a network of dealerships across Shropshire and the West Midlands and includes an extensive array of different franchises including Vauxhall, VW Commercials, Nissan, Toyota, Volvo, Renault, MG, Dacia, and DAF Trucks, as well as an extensive bodyshop network.

The latest set of accounts from Companies House show the company’s turnover for the year to December 31, 2013 was £19,858,000 and while the business made a gross profit of £2,359,000 this was eroded by distribution and administrative expenses of £2,471,000.

The directors have not recommended a dividend they said the loss of £149,000 (2012: Nil) would be transferred to reserves.

Despite the loss, the directors said in their annual report that overall, 2013 had been a satisfactory year and the company’s projections for 2014 suggested that it would see an improvement in performance with fresh growth predicted.

Trading was impacted by an acquisition completed by the group in July. It purchased the trade and assets of William A Lewis Cars Ltd in a deal worth £5,166,408.

The company is financed by GMAC UK, RCI Banque, Toyota Financial Services, Volvo Car Financial Services and RBS through term loans, stocking loans and overdraft facilities. It is also dependent on trade credit from suppliers.

“The directors are confident that the banking and financial facilities currently in place are more than adequate for the company’s working capital requirements and that the company has sufficient available funds for operations and planned expansions,” it said.

The GMAC term loans will expire in July 2020 and the GMAC working capital facilities are available until October 31, 2015. The company said it had begun discussions to renew these facilities and the expectation was these would be renewed for a further two years from October 31, 2014.

The working capital facilities with RBS and Lombard were renewed for a further 12 months with effect from March 1, 2014.

“Current forecasts and predictions taking account of potential changes in trading conditions show the company should be able to operate within these facilities,” it added.