Group 1’s continued UK business restructure has translated into increased gross profit performance and revenues according to the company’s Q1 trading update.
The company has doubled in size due to its acquisition of Inchcape Retail last year and as a result its gross profit performance in Q1 increased from $103.5m (£78m) to $217m (£163m) year-on-year.
Revenues also jumped by 92% to $1.6bn over the same Q1 period.
Group 1 has been working on consolidating its acquisition of Inchcape Retail, which added 54 dealerships to its UK operations.
The company’s UK wide restructuring plan consisted of “workforce realignment, strategic closing of certain facilities and systems integrations”.
Daryl Kenningham, Group 1’s president and chief executive (pictured), said: “Our operational excellence was on display in the UK.
“Ongoing efforts to integrate our recently acquired UK dealerships have improved UK selling, general, and administrative expenses (SG&A) as a percent of gross profit to 2024 pre-acquisition levels.
“We are focused on optimizing our UK portfolio, adding one Lexus and three Toyota dealerships and closing three sites during the current quarter.
“Our UK team is making progress on effective cost management and will continue to explore ways to refine our cost structure.”
Group 1 confirmed to AM last month there are 370 roles at risk across the group and it is going through the consultation process with a view to make reductions in headcount before the end of June.
A Group 1 UK spokesperson told AM at the time: “Following the completion of the Inchcape Retail acquisition in August 2024 we commenced a review of our corporate support functions, which remains ongoing, to ensure that we remain in a strong position to serve our customers and OEM partners effectively.
“We have spoken directly with all the teams impacted, and our focus remains on supporting our colleagues by working closely with them during this transition.
“In line with other retailers, we continue to face cost headwinds relating to tax increases announced in the last Budget, and in response we have identified opportunities to remove duplication, streamline processes and decentralise certain roles to drive efficiencies across the business.”
Group 1 saw $11.1m in charges related to the restructuring of the business during Q1.
The business has not completed its UK restructure and expects “additional activities to occur in 2025 to further optimise our operations and reduce costs”.