Scotland's family-owned and operated John Clark Motor Group is actively seeking out acquisition targets after celebrating a record 2022.

The group which heads a diversified franchise portfolio and used vehicle sales operations across sites in North, East and Central Scotland posted record 2022 pre-tax profits of £25.3 million compared to £24.1 million in 2021 on turnover which rose £4 million to £914.3 million – despite fewer cars being sold.

Only 11,308 new cars were sold last year compared to 12,065 in 2021 while used car sales were 18,304 down against 20,831 in 2021.

Even so, the group pursued an ambitious investment programme which included a new Aberdeen property, completion of a significant new facility in Edinburgh for Volvo Cars and a further freehold facility in Dundee.

​​Chris Clark, group managing director, said that despite the significant investment over over the last 14 years, profits generated during that period had strengthened the group’s balance sheet which left it “well positioned to commit to fresh facilities investment as well as actively pursue future acquisition opportunities”.

The business disclosed it was planning further investment at other sites in Aberdeen, Stirling, and Dunfermline.

Clark said that historically high new vehicle customer orders meant the group would again generate positive trading results this year with projected full year turnover pegged at £1 billion.

Clark commended the hard work and effort of the business team and said a key priority had been the extended support to help employees address the impact of the cost of living crisis.

“We did this through a mix of targeted wage reviews, provision of additional temporary cost of living support measures and utilisation of retailer benefits platforms, which were all well received and helped us to improve our colleague satisfaction and retention levels.”

Employee headcount saw a slight increase from 1,269 to 1,304 and Clark added that the business was committed to continuing to invest in its internal training and development programmes as well as in developing its apprentice programme.