Caterham Cars bosses voice ‘disappointment’ at fourth loss in a row

Bosses at car maker Caterham have voiced their ‘disappointment’ in falling to a loss for the fourth year in a row.

The Kent-headquartered manufacturer of lightweight sports cars has reported a pre-tax loss of £2.3m for the year to 31 March, 2024, having also made a loss of £2.7m in the prior 12 months.

The last time the company made a pre-tax profit was the £136,942 it reported in 2019.

Newly-filed accounts with Companies House also show that its turnover rose from £20m to £23.8m in the year.

Caterham Cars said the increase in its turnover was due to an increase in the output of new vehicles, from 450 to 541.

The company’s UK turnover decreased from £10m to £8.9m in the year but rose in Europe from £6.6m to £9.5m, from £2.2m to £3.6m in Japan and from £1.1m to £1.7m in the rest of the world.

Caterham Cars’ five-year plan to turn fortunes around

A statement signed off by the board said: “The directors are disappointed to report a further operating loss… following a loss also reported in the previous accounting period.

“The directors and the company’s parent remain committed and focused on turning the business back into regular profits and a five-year business plan has been developed which forecasts strong medium-term growth and profits.”

Caterham Cars added: “Whilst the business still incurred some supply chain issues in the year, many of the previous year’s supply problems were resolved as the year progressed and this led to more stable monthly output for the majority of the year under review.

“Other revenue streams remained relatively unchanged in the year, except for a drop in used car and service revenues.

“This was caused by the decision in the previous year to exit direct retailing and the company therefore ceased all direct sud car and servicing operations from September 2023.”

On its future, the business said: “Immediately after the financial year the business has now successfully relocated to a new larger assembly, warehouse and office facility which allows for increased output capacity, improved customer-facing facilities and a better working environment for all staff.

“This concludes the initial long-term investment from the company’s parent to place the business on a solid foundation to grow existing markets and develop new demand for the Seven for the next decade.”

Caterham Cars was founded in 1974 by Graham Nearn and was independent until it was acquired by Tony Fernandez in 2011.

The brand raced in F1 from 2012 to 2014 until it went into administration.

In 2021, Caterham Cars was acquired by VT Holdings, the Japanese importer for the Caterham Seven since 2009.