14 January 2021
There are only two motor insurers in the UK that have chosen to secure a certain amount of capacity by owning their own vehicle repair facilities.
Solus (London Limited), owned by Aviva, has recently submitted its financial accounts for the period to 31 December 2019, therefore Trend Tracker is pleased to update the section of our report that analyses insurance company owned vehicle repair sites.
The Solus network comprises of 19 vehicle body repair centres, nationally, with the most recent addition being a 25,000 sq. ft. new site located in Bolton, creating over 40 jobs. 9 of the Solus sites are located in close proximity to the M25.
Solus (London) filed their 2019 accounts early in January 2021 for the year ending 31 December 2019, seven weeks after our ‘Emerging from Covid-19 report’ had been published.
They reported a group combined turnover of £93.69 million, a 9.7% increase on the previous year’s £85.4 million (£76.87 million of which was for crash repairs – up from £71.2 million in 2018). Gross profit improved by 1% to 45%, from 44% in 2018. Operating profit also rose by 1% to 17%.
A pre-tax profit margin of £15.6 million (16.7%) was recorded, up from £13.9 million (16.3%) in 2018.
From the above, checking their website and using our previous research, we understand that c.33,000 repairs were undertaken within the group in 2019, a number that would have since grown as the additional sites are now trading, however like many vehicle body repair facilities, due to the Lockdowns, accident claims will have been affected.
The highest paid director received a salary of £258,000.
In addition to the full year accounts, Solus appointed Louise Kirkbride as a director on 14 December 2020. Alex Caldwell terminated his directorship on 31 December 2020.
The next set of accounts made up to 31 December 2020 are due by 30 September 2021.
The company employs more than 600 people across the current 19 sites.
Separately, Solus has announced they will be opening a new site – their 20th repair centre – on 1 February 2021, in Nottingham creating further jobs. “The team have overcome the challenges of lockdown, working closely with their suppliers to prepare the site in a short space of time,” the company said.
The other insurer who owns a chain of bodyshops is Direct Line Group (DLG). They wholly own DLG Auto Services, rebranded from the former UK Assistance Accident Repair Centres (UK AARCs) in March 2017.
The chain currently operates a total of 21 locations, covering most major cities and repairing around 90,000 accident damaged cars, every year.
Their most recent location to be acquired was in Weybridge, announced in November 2019.
Paul Nightingale, Director of Motor Networks & Engineering Services commented, “This acquisition marks another big milestone in the DLG Auto Services journey, bringing our network of sites to 21. We have an ambition to be the best motor repairer in the UK and acquiring the new service centre demonstrates our commitment and ambition to make repairs easier for customers, putting them safely back on the road while delivering more customers a great service.”
The latest acquisition continues a growth strategy and adds to sites purchased in Aylesbury, Warwick, Peterborough and Edinburgh between March 2016 and September 2018.
DLG Auto Services reported a combined turnover of c.£218.9 million in 2019, increasing by £21.2 million on the previous year, mainly due to ‘…more efficient use of repair capacity and the acquisition of a new repair centre’. The cost of sales increased by £11.9 million as a direct result of increased accident repair volumes. The group recorded a £65.7 million pre-tax profit margin (30%) and completed an estimated 90,000 repairs in 2019.