5 minute read
Interview: Brian Gilda
Brian Gilda has been selling Fords for nearly 40 years but he’s never seen a year like 2020, reports James Batchelor.
I’ve been through a few financial world crises from beginning to end, and I didn’t think I would see anything like this,’ he tells Car Dealer on the publication of the firm’s 2020 full-year results.
Gilda is chairman of Peoples Ford – Europe’s largest independent Ford dealer – and a founder-director of the Retail Automotive Alliance, which is the UK’s leading independent automotive retail purchasing group.
Moreover, he’s a director of the Ford UK Dealer Council and vice-chairman of the Ford European Dealer Council, advising some 2,250 dealers across 22 European markets.
He is also chairman of the Ford European Product Working Group.
So, when someone of Gilda’s standing says he’s never seen a year like 2020, you can’t help but take notice.
‘The problem with the pandemic was there were people who were plainly making decisions, and making horrible decisions, which were affecting the lives of my staff, of their relatives and friends, and everybody in the community – that was quite scary.’
Speaking of his firm’s performance following the first lockdown, Gilda says: ‘The real story is that we set ourselves up to come out of lockdown to be in the best position to take advantage.
‘Our mental capacity [during lockdown] was good, and our aftersales activity was looking after the blue-light services. So we didn’t have to fill it [the business] with oil, crank it up and give it a good kick – we were ready to go.
‘When the spike came, we had the right stock and motivated people – bang and off we went.’
And what a bang it was. Last year, the firm turned in its strongest financial performance ever. Profit before tax soared to £7.98m in the year ended August 31, 2021 – up a whopping 165 per cent on the year before.
Twelve months ago, the business – which has six showrooms in the UK: three in central Scotland and another three in the north-west of England – reported pre-tax profit had slumped to just over £3m, which was down from the £4.6m that it made the year before.
Turnover for the period ended August 31 this year totalled £289.5m – up by almost 20 per cent on the previous year.
It’s the strongest financial performance the business has recorded in its 38-year history.
Peoples took £880,000 in government furlough cash, and Gilda described the furlough
Brian Gilda
Click here to watch the interview with Peoples Ford boss Brian Gilda
The problem with the pandemic was there were people who were making horrible decisions, which were affecting the lives of everybody – that was quite scary.
Brian Gilda
scheme as an ‘exceptionally clever piece of financial engineering’ by the government. ‘The one thing we did recognise before we went into the financial year was we had to look after our staff better than we normally would do,’ he says.
‘This was a pandemic, not a financial crisis, and people were worried about themselves. And I think we passed the test we set ourselves.’
Gilda revealed that the company had made one redundancy during the past 12 months, and all staff with the exception of directors were awarded a £400 bonus.
‘When you think about it, we’ve had a recession in our industry since the end of the Second World War.
‘In some ways, we have the skinniest margins that you could ever think about.
‘My margins in this last year were 2.75 per cent. That probably puts me in the upper quartile of returns in the industry – at 2.75 per cent!
‘It doesn’t give you much wiggle room. But somehow, with the help of our manufacturer partners, we managed to get through the pain barrier and come over the other side.’
Commenting on the current major problem that is the supply chain crisis, he said: ‘This particular pain with regard to semiconductors is new to me – I haven’t seen this before.’ 2023 will be the company’s fortieth anniversary, and Gilda says the motor retail landscape has changed quite a bit in that time.
‘My aspiration in starting the business was I was fed up with working for people who were in the industry for the wrong reasons.
‘Ford said to me if I could raise the money then I had this opportunity [to set up a business and sell Fords]. I said, “Terrific, where is the opportunity?” and they said, “Bathgate”.
‘Now, if God was going to have an enema, that’s probably where it would be – the dealership itself had gone bust three times before!’
Much to his mother’s disappointment, Gilda never put his name over the door, and so began a four-decade journey steadily building up the business – now run by his daughter – to the enviable position it’s in today.
Gilda isn’t a man to look back and cling on to those early days in the Eighties – he’s realistic about the future.
‘If you cut me, I have the Blue Oval running through me, but I am realistic in knowing that with Ford looking to change its imprint in the dealer body, there may or may not be other opportunities.
‘I’m eager enough to try to make it [the business] better, and I’m clever enough – I hope – not to be seduced into something that doesn’t make any kind of sense. I think there’s going to be something coming out of the cupboard soon.’
FUTURE
Playing the waiting game when it comes to agency sales
AGENCY agreements are one of the main discussion points among dealers and manufacturers at the moment, as both sides try to work out what retail will look like in the future.
When it comes to Ford, Brian Gilda says: ‘It’s not surprising that all the manufacturers are looking at how we can rearrange the furniture and distribution.
‘Now, whether that translates to block exemption for us, or agency for Stellantis, or whatever, remains to be seen.’ He added: ‘With Ford, I think the position is still under review, and we will wait until they want to talk to us on the dealer council.’
