A business that started as a single car dealership in Perth in 2006 now has sales approaching £500 million.
Newly filed accounts for Peter Vardy show revenues of £471.2m for the year ending December 31 2019. Pre-tax profits rose 15% to £6.3m.
The business operates 14 car dealerships across Scotland.
Perth Porsche
Its Perth Porsche operation was highlighted as a particular success last year, with revenue growth of 82%.
The Tweed Place dealership opened in April 2018 and will post a profit this year.
Chief executive Peter Vardy said: “We were really pleased with our performance in a challenging market.
“We are committed to reinvesting all surpluses back into the business for future acquisition, property redevelopment and organic growth.”
Dealerships across Scotland
The company operates six Vauxhall dealerships in Aberdeen, Perth, Kirkcaldy, Edinburgh, Motherwell and Dalgety Bay.
It operates Jaguar, Land Rover and Porsche dealerships in Aberdeen and BMW and Mini retailers in Edinburgh.
It also has two of Scotland’s largest indoor used car showrooms – CarStore at Glasgow and Dundee.
While the industry average profit per dealership in 2019 was £166,000, the Peter Vardy Group delivered average underlying profits of £581,000 per dealership.
Focus on digital sales
Mr Vardy said the company’s focus over the next decade would see it expand from selling cars, to all forms of mobility.
He said the firm was also focused on becoming the number one digital automotive retailer in the UK.
“We have continued to invest in digital software, sales structures and process throughout 2019 to ensure we maintain our competitive advantage,” he said.
“We have worked closely with our sister company, Silver Bullet, as a key partner in improving our digital platforms and our goal is to retail 50% of annual sales via our e-commerce channel by 2025.”
Vardy name associated with sales car since 1920s
The Vardy name has been associated with motor retail since the 1920s.
It first emerged with Reg Vardy in 1923. It was developed by his son Sir Peter Vardy who helped the company reach the top ranks of European motor retailers with over 6,000 employees in the UK and a turnover of £1.7bn.
The Reg Vardy business was sold to Pendragon for more than £500m in 2005. Peter Vardy started the following year.
Pent up demand
While the majority of employees were placed on furlough during the lockdown period this year, the group was still able to complete sales through its digital platforms.
Pent up demand when the dealerships re-opened in the third quarter of the year, meant the business was tracking close to its original business plan for the year.
The business has a policy of donating 10% of profits to charity. The Peter Vardy Foundation made donations of more than £500,000 in 2019.
The company employs more than 800 people and is committed to innovative reward and remunerations schemes. 224 new workers enrolled in the group share option plan last year.
