Lookers reopens some sites after furloughing 7,000 workers

Lookers said it had partly reopened some of its trading sites and had furloughed 7,000 of its workers during the covid-19 crisis.

The car dealer said 31 of its locations were providing essential repairs and maintenance to key workers' vehicles and that 10 parts distribution centres had also partly reopened.

Lookers closed all its trading operations on 23 March in line with the government's guidance on social distancing during the coronavirus emergency. The company was already suffering from tough trading conditions before the crisis.

About 7,000 of Lookers' employees have been furloughed under the government's emergency job protection scheme, Lookers said. All board members and senior managers have taken cuts of up to 30% in their contracted pay.

Lookers said in the two months to the end of February like-for-like new vehicle sales fell 4.8% and used vehicle sales dropped 2.6%. Margins also came under pressure because management reduced stocks of used and demonstration vehicles.

The company said it expected to post an underlying pretax profit for the year to the end of December despite a £4m charge for fraud and further costs as the result of widening its fraud investigation.

The company said it was considering ways of reopening after the virus and managing costs with lower sales expected because of continuing social distancing measures.

Mark Raban, Lookers' chief executive, said: "We are also continuing to take prudent steps, with the support of our major stakeholders, to ensure that the business returns to full operation in the best possible condition."