14 September 2020

Jardine has reported a 2019 operating profit of £8.3m, down from £12.5m in 2018. Profit before tax declined from £7m to -£2.7m, with return on sales down from 0.6% to 0.4%.

The Colchester retailer predicted there would be a further “significant and material impact on 2020 results due to a loss of sales” caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Jardine placed 85% of staff on furlough during lockdown and, in July 2020, made 522 redundancies, at a cost of £3m-£4m.

During 2019, Jardine exited from VW and Honda. It had been “underperforming for a number of years in both brands with minimal returns from substantial investments.” In September 2019, it sold two Honda retailers to Marshall for £900k and, in December, sold its VW retailers and a Skoda dealer to Marshall for £16m. Aylesbury VW was sold to Marshall in July 2020 for £2.9m.

Jardine also closed Jardine Jaguar and exited Sevenoaks Lamborghini: the site has been repurposed into a used Ferrari retailer to support Colchester Ferrari.

The group’s strategy is now to consolidate and enhance its position with its existing brands and retailers.

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