Chester T. Dean 
A car dealership of the ultra-wealthy has reported that strong pandemic demand for Aston Martins, Lamborghinis and Rolls Royces during the pandemic has more than sevenfold profits.
HR Owen, based in Chelsea, west London, reported pre-tax profits of £13.7m for the year to June, up from £1.9m in 2020.
The figure also surpassed pre-coronavirus returns. Over a 14-month period in 2019, HR Owen reported a pre-tax profit of £8.3million.
The dealership, founded in 1932 by Harold Owen, a former Royal Flying Corps officer, sold 1,150 cars, an increase of 8.7%. On average, based on overall vehicle revenues of £389 million, it charged around £338,000 for each.
The network of 17 dealerships also sells Bentleys, Bugattis and Maseratis. The dealer is also the UK retailer for Rimac’s next electric ‘hypercar’, the Nevera, which is claimed to accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in 1.85 seconds.
HR Owen said: “The past year has been difficult. Despite this, the group delivered an exceptional result.
Since 2016, the company has been wholly owned by Berjaya Group, a Malaysian conglomerate led by Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan. It said it benefited from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, although it reduced its staff during the year from 39 to 409.
Automakers have struggled to meet demand during the pandemic and have generally been punished for it, suffering lower profits or losses as large payrolls during shutdowns and high raw material costs have eaten into their margins. . However, dealers were able to capitalize on strong demand.
The luxury car market has been no different with wealthy buyers who don’t want to wait for cars with long waiting lists buying nearly new engines.
