Luxury used car specialist Alexanders Prestige has built an impressive reputation with its customers and this has helped the business boost average margins per vehicle by nearly 30% over the past 12 months.

The business has a group stock of around 125 vehicles at any one time made up of prestige supercars and saloons, from Ferraris to Bentleys.

Return on sales has increased strongly in the 2018/19 financial year, after steady increases in profitability over the past three years.

The ability of Alexanders Prestige to increase margins and profitability is attributed to the value proposition it has developed in servicing its customer base at the higher end of the market.

The judges were impressed with the extremely positive customer feedback across Google (4.8/5 over 301 reviews) and Trust Pilot (4.8/5 over 272 reviews), with many customers coming from repeat business. This is particularly impressive for a market where premium and prestige customers have high expectations.

Central to the strong reviews is the dealership’s core values known as “Alexanders Way”. This process underpins the customer service ethos.

The team at the dealership are close-knit and the customer sales journey is clearly defined with a flow chart that aids sales executives to understand and identify client needs. This tool was devised collaboratively and has become an integral part of the sales process since it was introduced in 2017.

The business has a dedicated experienced buying team led by a group buyer who sources each car individually. The majority of the dealership’s vehicles are sourced through existing relationships, previous customers and referrals, rather than through auctions.

The focus for the business over the next 12 months is to build on the expertise of its newly appointed head of marketing to further leverage its growing presence and use of social media to help extend its reach in the prestige used car market.

Finalists: Alexanders Prestige, AW Carhouse, Just Nice Clean Cars, MB Motors, Motonet.com

Award sponsored by: Santander Consumer Finance