Brownhills goes into the red, while Granthams comes out of it
Brownhills, the country’s largest single site motorhome retailer, went into the red last year for the first time in many years.
An excess of stock has led Brownhills Motorhomes to go into the red after many years of growth.
In the year to the end of September 2025, the UK’s largest single site retailer made a pre-tax loss of £961,000. This compares with a pre-tax profit of £1.22m the year before.
The Nottinghamshire company, whose new motorhome franchises include Adria, Auto-Trail, Elddis, Giottiline, Itineo, Rapido, Swift and Sun Living, says it was adversely affected by the double whammy of, on the one hand, a reduction in consumer demand following the post-Covid boom, and on the other, makes of motorhomes increasing production as they had better access to chassis and component parts than during the Covid years.
The increase in production also affected motorhome valuations, which had previously risen when motorhomes were in short supply.
As a result, the company, based on a site just next to the junction of the A46 and A1 in Newark, had to try to reduce stock levels of both new and used motorhomes by massive discounting and operating at lower profit margins.
However, although they expect that the current year will also be affected by excess stock, Brownhills directors believe it will be able to return an “improved financial result”.
Despite the loss, the company managed to improve its net cash position, and had a net balance at the end of September of £5.7m, compared with £3.4m the year before. Models currently on the dealer forecourts include the Adria Compact Supreme DL and the Swift Voyager 564,
Just down the road from Brownhills, Grantham Caravans also says high levels of stock has affected its performance.
But diversifying more into motorhome sales has helped it report a pre-tax profit of £67,399 for the year to the end of June 2025, compared with a pre-tax loss of £295,632 the year before.
The company currently sells Bailey, Joa by Pilote, McLouis Fusion and Moto-trek new motorhomes, as well as used motorhomes. It says it has improved its market position for both new and used motorhomes, and has also seen growth in parts and accessories, driven partly by its e-commerce business.
Interest costs rose by £177,000 over the year, however, and the company adds that its ability to maintain a high level of customer services has been put under strain by a higher than expected staff turnover and the amount of time needed to train new team members.
In other recent industry news, Knaus Tabbert reported a change at the top, with an industry veteran with a long history with Adria set to take an even more prominent role at the German company.
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