Shares in luxury car seller HR Owen raced up 4 per cent today after it said a strong performance by Rolls-Royce and Bentley showrooms towards the end of the year meant 2012 profits will beat forecasts.
The group refurbished and put a new team into its flagship Berkeley Square Rolls and Bentley showroom over the summer, which boosted sales. This complemented a strong first half in the Ferrari and Lamborghini franchises.
“It is still the same groups — newly-made entrepreneurs, rich foreigners who live in the UK and the traditional wealthy British families — who are buying,” said chief executive Joe Doyle. “Both new and used car sales were up year-on-year.”
This year there will be big model launches with the Ferrari F12, three Lamborghinis, the Bentley Flying Spur and the latest Rolls-Royce Wraith.
House broker Charles Stanley raised its forecast for this year’s pre-tax profit from £1.8 million to £2.2 million. The shares gained 2.5p to 69.5p.
