Greenhous 2019 profit halves
24 August 2020
Telford’s Greenhous has reported a £310k pre-tax profit for the year ended 31 December 2019, down from 2018’s £528k profit (a 52% decline). The total represents an operating margin of 0.31%, compared to 0.33% in 2018.
Following Ford of Britain’s retailer restructuring announcement, Greenhous decided to close its lossmaking Newtown site in November 2019, which it purchased from WR Davies in 2015. However, the directors said the purchase of a more viable operation on the Isle of Wight (Premier Ford) will allow the business to continue supplying Ford vehicles to fleet customers.
The closure costs and trading losses of Newtown “had a significant impact on the overall result” for 2019. Losing the loss-making operation, and the continued growth of Greenhous’ fleet operation, “will guarantee improvement in the future profitability of the company”.
During 2019, Greenhous net borrowings grew from £5.8m in 2019 to £23.4m in 2019, while turnover fell from £390m to £346m.