Choppy ride for car dealership giant

L Profits hit by slide in new sales but used market performs strongly

the decline in new cars. He told investors: “The group has a clear focus and direction to transform the business and double used revenue by 2021.

“This will be enabled by our market-leading software business to provide the online and technology platform and by investment in increasing the used retail and after sales representation points in the UK.

“We made further progress towards our goal of doubling used vehicle revenue with growth in the period of 15 per cent. We anticipate our performance in 2018 to be in line with expectations.”

In December, the firm said it will close some dealerships in Britain and offload its US division following a profit warning in October.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: “An 11 per cent-plus share price hike in response to weak 2017 results from car dealership Pendragon can be attributed to investor relief that life hasn’t got worse for the company, given a difficult market backdrop for the car seller.”

Nick Bubb, the retail analyst, said the positive market reaction to the results would be welcome as the share price has been “particularly soggy of late”. “This is another management team that could do with giving its shares a boost,” he added.