Airports promoter of luxury supercars as competition prizes Best of the Best, has drawn its own winning ticket for business with an increase in turnover of nearly 24 per cent to £7.3 million.
Profit after tax was £597,000 against £558,000 12 months earlier and the business is confident that it will maintain its trading position despite the impact of the credit crunch.
The company said yesterday that during the year ended 30 April it had opened five new sites including one in the new Terminal Five at Heathrow and its first international site at Copenhagen International Airport. Other international sites are under discussion.
The company has a site at Birmingham International Airport which is trading above expectations and at East Midlands. Both opened in the last financial year.
The company has also signed a long-term seven year contract with the British Airports Authority which underpins its business in the UK.
The prize cars which make appearances are Ferrari, Aston Martin DB9, Porche and Audi R8 models. The draw is made at the end of each month.
Best of the Best has built up a data base of 300,000 registered players and its internet site is also making a significant contribution to turnover which represents about 23 per cent of total sales during the year.
William Hindmarsh, chief executive, said: “We are confident about the business going forward but we cannot ignore the present economic climate. The sales staff are important and we shall keep recruiting good staff and training them.
“In this environment I do not want to be over-bullish. There are a lot of problems but from our perspective we are not unduly affected.
“We have a strong balance sheet of £1.7 million cash which puts the Best of the Best in a suitable position.”
Rupert Garton, commercial director, said at the start of the new financial year in May and June there had been sales growth at airports and online.
“When people go on holiday there is a feelgood factor when people buy a ticket for £20 and hope to win a £90,000 supercar.”
Mr Garton said the online draws were now a significant part of the business where the cost of a ticket was much lower and those entering the competitions could win Minis and motorbikes among other prizes.
He said the company often had to buy the cars at above their list price because of their exclusiveness and the order book of customers waiting for them.
