John Clark moves into top gear with record year

Pre-tax profit also rose 42 per cent to £10.5million from £7.4 million in this fifth consecutive record-breaking year.

The group, which represents well-known automotive brands in the North, East and Central Scotland saw the number of vehicles sold reach a record high of nearly 24,000.

The company reported a new vehicle sales increase of 16 per cent to a record of 12,926 and retail used vehicle sales volumes grow by 17 per cent to 10,566.

For the ninth consecutive year, the group achieved turnover growth across its network of service workshops, accident repair centres and parts operations.

JCMG business development director Chris Clark said: “It’s fantastic to again report record results for the group following growth of our existing sites and acquisitions since the summer of 2013.

“Investment in our people will continue to be paramount and 2014 saw significant spend on staff training including our in-house management development programme.”

“One of the highlights has been the success on the back of our three Jaguar and Land Rover dealerships which were acquired mid-2013 and we announced last month a fourth addition with the acquisition of Frank Ogg based in Elgin.”

The staff headcount rose by 11 per cent to 1,030, with average earnings value growing by 10 per cent due to performance.

The company’s achievements and dedication to customer service was recently recognised at the 2015 Automotive Management Awards where it scooped both Best Retail Group (more than 10 sites) and Retailer of The Year.

Mr Clark commented: “Customer service remains a high focus for us and we firmly believe that the outstanding results we continue to achieve year on year are driven by our people.

“We will continue to invest in training and development and look forward to another year of customer satisfaction and business growth.”