​DONNELLY GROUP REPORTS SOLID PERFORMANCE AS IT POSITIONS FOR LONG-TERM GROWTH​​​

Donnelly Group, Northern Ireland’s largest privately owned vehicle retailer, has reported a pre-tax profit of £4,368,925 for the year ending 2025, according to the latest accounts filed at Companies House.

This represented a slight decrease from £4,851,740 in 2024. However, given the challenging automotive market and economic environment, the directors were satisfied with the company’s robust financial performance. Turnover was slightly down, from £330m in 2024 to £316m in 2025.

Overall, the car market in 2025 was down 8.8% vs 2024, with continued weakness in retail and Motability segments down 6.4% and 20.5% respectively. The retail market, the best barometer of the health of the market and the general economy, is -30% vs pre-COVID levels.

However, the Commercial Vehicle Market grew by 4.6% and the Used Vehicle market improved by 5.9%, taking it above the pre-COVID market for the first time.

Dave Sheeran, Managing Director at Donnelly Group, said:

“We are pleased with the resilience our business has demonstrated in what continues to be a challenging and evolving market. Our ability to outperform wider industry trends reflects the strength of our partnerships, the commitment of our people, and our continued focus on delivering for customers across Northern Ireland.

“The automotive sector is undergoing significant and ongoing transformation, particularly as grapples with the challenges of both the zero-emission vehicle mandate and the Northern Ireland specific challenges of Windsor Framework Type Approval regulations.

“Our performance broadly tracked the new market sectors, but we outperformed the market with used vehicle sales up by 8% and solid growth in our Aftersales operations.”

In 2025, Donnelly Group had the additional challenge of managing the disruption of major redevelopments at its Dungannon and Ballymena locations as part of a group-wide £8m investment into its facilities following the award of responsibility for the Volkswagen, Skoda, CUPRA and SEAT brands outside Belfast.

In addition to this major expansion, early 2026 has seen the introduction of a new partnership with BYD in Dungannon and Ballymena.

Dave continued:

“Throughout the year, we have continued to invest in our network and strengthen our relationships with key brand partners, ensuring we are well placed to support future growth and deliver an enhanced customer experience.

“We remain confident in our strategic direction and are focused on driving sustainable growth while continuing to play an active role in supporting our local community and regional economy.”