Gateshead-based Vertu Motors plc said on Wednesday it suffered “significant disruption” to operations in the group’s 10 JLR dealerships from September 1, 2025, due to the cyber attack on JLR.
“The board currently anticipate the one-off impact on group adjusted profit before tax for FY26 is a reduction of up to £5.5m depending on the timing of full restoration of JLR systems and normal trading,” said Vertu.
“September trading result was impacted by £2.0m due to the JLR disruption. There has been a progressive easing of the disruption in recent days …
“The group holds an insurance policy which includes business interruption coverage for third-party system outages and is currently working with its insurance brokers and insurers to assess a claim …
“Excluding this one-off impact of the JLR cyber-attack, the underlying profit before tax of the group for the full year is expected to be in line with market expectations.”
The news came as Vertu published interim results for the six months ended August 31, 2025, showing record first half revenue of £2.51 billion, up £35.4 million, “driven by acquisitions (primarily the Burrows acquisition undertaken in October 2024) which contributed a £102.8m increase in revenue year-on-year.”
Adjusted profit before tax for the period was £20 million (H1 2025: £22.1m). “As expected, this was below the prior year, reflecting the relative strength of comparative profits in H1 FY25,” said Vertu.
Interim dividend maintained at 0.9p per share.
On current trading and outlook, Vertu said: “September trading profit was ahead of the prior year, excluding the JLR impact …
“The group delivered growth of 1.8% in September like-for-like new retail vehicle sales. The UK new retail market grew 8.9% augmented by tactical pre-registration activity …
“Used vehicle sale volumes on a like-for-like basis were up year-on-year in September by 5.8% with stable margins …
“Aftersales demand remained strong with gross profit growth exhibited …
“Recent Government announcement of BEV grants, which benefit many of the group’s franchises, expected to improve demand for new BEV cars in H2 …
“Management to be strengthened with the creation from 1 January 2026 of two Managing Director roles to take responsibility for the group’s dealership operations. These two roles have been filled with internal promotions.”
Vertu CEO Robert Forrester said: “The group has performed well despite continued upheaval in the new car market due to the Government’s policy to electrify the UK car parc. We have delivered market share gains in every area as the Group trades under the single Vertu brand for the first time. We were particularly pleased to see further growth in our BEV retail market share.
“Our high-margin aftersales and used car channels delivered another good performance.
“It was disappointing for the industry to face major disruption across the JLR network following a cyber-attack on the Manufacturer during the key plate-change month of September. I was in awe of the way that our teams reacted to the disruption on customers and to minimise the impact in our 10 JLR dealerships, with the full support of JLR which has responded admirably.
“Whilst the situation is fluid, it appears to be easing in recent days. We are currently working with our insurance brokers and insurers to assess a potential claim under our insurance policy, which extends to the impact of third-party systems outages.
“The group is very clear of its strategic priorities including further growth in the number of sales outlets, significant control of costs and the continued share buyback programme to drive shareholder value creation.”