Car supermarket giant Big Motoring World went into the red in 2024 with pre-tax losses of -£11.8m compared to a profit of £2.24m the prior year on turnover up 23% to £859.1m.
It said the losses were predominantly due to increased financing and exceptional costs due to expansion and restructuring.
During the year it opened its ninth and tenth retail sites in Sheffield and Norwich.
Another site in Camberly also opened welcoming its first customers in November.
During 2024, it conducted a review of its trading operations in Peterborough, which resulted in site closure costs of £726,882.
The company is currently embroiled in a legal battle with former director Peter Waddell, who was ousted from the company.
In notes to the accounts filed at Companies House it said it incurred exceptional items, relating to legal fees considered “outside of normal trading” and site set up costs incurred prior to trading.
During the period it overhauled its customer service operations at its existing sites in Cannock and Leeds.
Big Motoring World created 336 new roles across the business in 2024, bringing the total to 1,500. The company sold 51,000 used vehicles last year.
In a separate statement Laurence Vaughan, CEO at Big Motoring World, said: “In 2024, our focus was on transformation. We invested in our operational processes and systems to become more focused on our customers and added new sites to extend our national reach.
“We can be proud that we now have the right foundations in place to build sustainable growth and will look forward with positivity as we build on our momentum in the UK’s vital used car market.”
