Autotrader: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show
Autotrader Group PLC is owned by its shareholders: as a listed company it has no single person with significant control on the register. In the year to March 2026 it reported turnover of £624m.
- In the year to March 2026, Autotrader had turnover of £624m, up 3.9% on the year before.
- It made a pre-tax profit of £389m, keeping £62.28 of every £100 of sales.
- It employed an average of 1,244 people, with staff costs of £100m.
- Autotrader Group PLC is listed on the stock market, so it is owned by its shareholders.
- These figures are from Autotrader Group PLC's group accounts for the year to March 2026, filed at Companies House on 17 September 2026.
- Registered name
- AUTOTRADER GROUP PLC
- Company number
- 09439967
- Status
- Active
- Incorporated
- 13 February 2015
- Registered office area
- Manchester
- Industry code on the register
- 70100: Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities
- Accounts
- Group accounts, covering the companies it owns
- Accounts type
- Full group accounts
- Latest accounts
- Year to March 2026, filed 17 September 2026
What does Autotrader do?
Autotrader is an online marketplace for buying and selling new and used cars in the UK. Most of its money comes from car retailers and manufacturers, who pay subscriptions to advertise vehicles and use its pricing and data tools, with extra income from private sellers and advertising. It began in 1977 as a classified car magazine before moving fully online, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
In brief: online car marketplace · retailer subscriptions · pricing and data tools · listed
Source: Spark Intel editorial, checked 24 September 2026. Official website: autotrader.co.uk.
Who owns Autotrader?
Autotrader Group PLC, company number 09439967, has no person with significant control on the register. That is normal for a company whose shares trade on a regulated market: ownership sits with the shareholders who hold the shares at any given time.
The full ownership record is on the Companies House register. Control is given in the bands the register uses, not as exact shareholdings.
Who runs Autotrader?
The Companies House register lists 9 current officers for Autotrader Group PLC.
All 9 current officers
| Officer | Appointed |
|---|---|
| Claire Baty | 1 November 2016 |
| Nathan James Coe | 1 April 2017 |
| James Jonathan Warner | 1 March 2020 |
| Jasvinder Kaur Gakhal | 1 January 2022 |
| Matthew Samuel Davies | 1 July 2023 |
| Geeta Gopalan | 1 May 2024 |
| Amanda James | 1 July 2024 |
| Adam Douglas Otho Jay | 1 July 2025 |
| Megan Mackenzie-Quinn Siegler | 1 July 2025 |
Every current officer, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
What did Autotrader file?
Autotrader Group PLC reported turnover of £624m in the year to March 2026. That was up 3.9% on £601m the year before.
It reported 1,244 employees. The year before it reported 1,267.
It filed a pre-tax profit of £389m for the year, against a pre-tax profit of £376m the year before.
Staff costs came to £100m. That is an average of £81,000 a head. It ended the year with £18m at the bank and net assets of £407m. It paid dividends of £94m.
| Measure | Mar 2026 | Mar 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £624m | £601m |
| Pre-tax profit | £389m (filed) | £376m (filed) |
| Employees | 1,244 | 1,267 |
| Staff costs | £100m | £100m |
| Average staff cost per head | £81,000 | £79,000 |
| Bank and cash | £18m | £15m |
| Net assets | £407m | £569m |
| Dividends paid | £94m | £88m |
| Interest paid | £5m | |
| Interest received | £1.3m | |
| Directors' pay | £6m |
Read the accounts to March 2026 (PDF, Companies House) · every accounts filing
What do these figures mean? Turnover vs profit · Profit per £100 · Cash vs profit · Net assets · Group accounts
Are there any charges against Autotrader?
Autotrader Group PLC has registered 1 charge at Companies House, and all of them have since been satisfied. A charge is security a lender takes over a company's assets; one is satisfied when the lending behind it is repaid or released.
Each charge, with its holder and dates, is on the Companies House register.
How Autotrader compares
Of the 3 property and car portals, Autotrader is 1st on turnover, 2nd on profit margin and 2nd on growth. Rightmove keeps the most of every £100 of sales: £68.20.
| Rank | Property and car portals | Turnover | Profit per £100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Autotrader | £624m | £62.28 |
| 2nd | Rightmove | £425m | £68.20 |
| + 1 more property and car portals ranked |
Ranked by turnover. Profit per £100 is pre-tax profit for every £100 of turnover, shown only where the profit is filed.
Autotrader files as Autotrader Group PLC, with turnover of £624m in its latest filed year.
Questions about Autotrader
What does Autotrader do?
Autotrader is an online marketplace for buying and selling new and used cars in the UK. Most of its money comes from car retailers and manufacturers, who pay subscriptions to advertise vehicles and use its pricing and data tools, with extra income from private sellers and advertising. It began in 1977 as a classified car magazine before moving fully online, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Is Autotrader bigger than Rightmove?
Yes, by turnover. Autotrader reported £624m in its latest accounts, against £425m at Rightmove. Our Autotrader v Rightmove page compares the two on profit, margin, growth and staff. Autotrader v Rightmove →
How does Autotrader compare with its rivals?
By turnover, Autotrader is 1st of the 3 companies in our battle of the property and car portals, ahead of Rightmove. The battle ranks them on turnover, pre-tax profit, margin, growth and net assets. The battle of the property and car portals →
Who owns Autotrader?
Autotrader Group PLC is owned by its shareholders. As a listed company it is exempt from the register of people with significant control, so no single owner appears at Companies House.
How much does Autotrader make?
Autotrader Group PLC reported turnover of £624m in the year to March 2026. It filed a pre-tax profit of £389m.
How many people work at Autotrader?
Autotrader Group PLC reported 1,244 employees in the year to March 2026.
Who runs Autotrader?
The Companies House register lists 9 current officers for Autotrader Group PLC. The full list, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
- Figures come from Autotrader Group PLC's filings at Companies House, company number 09439967, for the period shown at the top of the page.
- These are group accounts: they include the companies it owns.
- Pre-tax profit is the figure the company filed, for both years.
- A figure the filing does not disclose is shown as n/d. A zero in the filing is treated as not disclosed, never as nil.
- Rounding: below £0.1m in thousands, from £0.1m to £2m to one decimal place, from £2m to the nearest million.
- Ownership is shown in the control bands the register of people with significant control uses, not as exact shareholdings.
- Officers' names and appointment dates come from the Companies House register. Job titles come from the company's own website. The description of what the company does comes from its website, or is marked Spark Intel editorial where it is written from stable, checked facts, with the date either way.
Spark Intel, “Autotrader: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show”, updated 6 November 2026. https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/companies/autotrader/. Figures from Companies House filings for AUTOTRADER GROUP PLC (09439967).
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