Motorline 2020 profit swells 74% despite Covid

Motorline Holdings has reported a £6.1m profit before tax. This includes £7.1m in government grants, for the year ended December 2020, up from a profit of £2.8m in 2019. Turnover fell slightly from £717m to £695m and ordinary dividends of £1m, up from £600k in 2019, were paid to directors.

The £7.1m in grants related mainly to the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. This helped them “minimise redundancies and retain staff in addition to the rates relief that was available during lockdown”. Following the first lockdown, the franchised dealer group reopened in June 2020.

Motorline withdrew from the Renault franchise during 2020, explaining the 3% fall in turnover and 12% fall in gross profit. They did, however invest in Audi. This included the relocation of its Audi Canterbury site, which significantly improved operating profit.