A UK car dealership has reported that strong demand from the ultra-wealthy for Aston Martins, Lamborghinis and Rolls-Royces in the pandemic has driven profits up more than seven-fold.
HR Owen, in West London, reported pre-tax profits of £13.7 million ($18.4m) for the year to June, compared with £1.9m in 2020.
The figure also outpaced returns before the coronavirus spread.
The dealership, which was founded in 1932 by former Royal Flying Corps officer Harold Owen, sold 1,150 cars for an increase of 8.7 per cent.
On average, based on overall vehicle revenue of £389m, it charged about £338,000 for each.
The network of 17 dealerships also sells Bentleys, Bugattis and Maseratis.
The dealer is also the UK retailer for Rimac’s coming electric “hypercar”, the Nevera, which it is claimed will accelerate from nought to 95kph in 1.85 seconds.
“The past year has been challenging. Despite this the group delivered an exceptional result,” HR Owen said.
Since 2016 the company has been wholly owned by Berjaya Group, a Malaysian conglomerate led by Cardiff City FC owner Vincent Tan.
It said it had benefited from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, although it cut its staff during the year by 39 to 409.
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Car makers have struggled to keep up with demand during the pandemic and have generally been punished for it.
They have suffered profit drops or losses as large wage bills during shutdowns and high raw material costs have eaten into their margins.
But dealers have been able to capitalise on high demand.
The luxury car market has been no different, with wealthy buyers who do not want to join long waiting lists for new cars buying nearly new ones.
