Chorley Group took a hit in 2025 with pre-tax losses of -£995,000, an improvement on the £1.09m loss the prior year on turnover up 4.8% to £272.2m.
The group now represents Nissan, MG, Citroen and Peugeot having parted ways with Hyundai and Kia.
In accounts filed at Companies for Bugle Inn Motor Company it said: “The directors were particularly pleased with the improvement in the quality of trading during the year.
“Gross profit increased by £2.6m (16.2%) to £18.5m, with gross margin improving from 6.1% to 6.8%.
“This reflects the benefit of the company’s cost alignment plans, centralised structures, alongside tighter control of used vehicle stock following the losses experienced on used electric vehicles in 2024.
“Operating profit increased to £582k (2024: £557k). On a like-for-like basis, the directors therefore consider the underlying improvement in trading to be significantly greater than the headline operating profit suggests.”
“The company has taken the decision to realign its previous plans of multi-branding and during the year, and in the period since the year end, the board has undertaken a detailed review of the company’s franchise portfolio.
“Whilst the multi-branding strategy has delivered strong growth in turnover and gross profit, the board concluded that the returns generated by certain franchises did not justify the continued investment, and management resource they required when reviewing against the opportunity in the current automotive market.
Chorley said it was going to refocus the company on a smaller number of core OEM partnerships, maximizing its presence with Nissan and MG.
