Focusing on higher margin sales has brought an East Anglian motor trader back into the black.

Ford dealership Pertwee & Back, based in Great Yarmouth, made a profit before tax of £682,693 in the year to October 31, 2017 compared with a £17,382 loss in the preceding 12 months.

Accounts filed with Companies House show the EDP/EADT Top100 company turned over £33.68m in the same period – down by £4.88m on the year before.

In a report filed with its accounts the family firm said its decision to put greater emphasis on retail sales, rather than lower margin fleet sales, had resulted in a fall in revenue but had caused profits to rise 'significantly', with its gross profit margin rising from 1.7% to 2.1%.

It attributed £1.12m of lost revenue to the sale of its body repair shop at the end of its previous reporting period, which it off-loaded 'as part of the company's refocus and reorganisation towards its core service'.