Factor Sales enters a new era under new ownership
Factor Sales has been a fixture in the trade for 15 years, but under new leadership and ownership, the company says it’s entering a new era. PMF sat down with Commercial Director, Sebastian de Pedro, to find out what’s changed, what the data is showing and what comes next.
Q. Sebastian, thank you for joining PMF at a time when Factor Sales is embarking on a new chapter – what prompted this change in strategy?
A. Factor Sales has been around for 15 years, and we’re one of the only companies in the aftermarket doing what we do, tracking real transaction data between motor factors and garages. There’s a huge gap in this market when it comes to data. There isn’t one body that bridges the gap between guesswork and genuinely understanding what’s happening at the point of sale.
I was brought in about eight months ago to look at the foundations and scale the business. When I started digging into what Factor Sales has and what the opportunity looks like, it became clear very quickly that we were sitting on something valuable that the market needs. The opportunity in front of us is enormous, and it was important that we took a step back, got the foundations right and set ourselves up to really grow.
Q. Can you share the key points of this fresh start – arguably a new era for Factor Sales?
A. We’ve rebuilt the platform from the ground up. New website, completely redesigned interface, much cleaner and less clunky than it’s been in the past. We’ve spent the last few months working closely with our clients to understand their frustrations and pain points, and we’ve built the new platform around what they actually need.
When Factor Sales was acquired by Pearson Ham Group – a pricing consultancy – two years ago, there was an initial push towards pricing, but transparently, we lost touch with the core value of what Factor Sales is. This fresh start is about getting back to that, showing the market the real value of what we can offer, educating the industry on what’s possible with real transaction data, and making the platform accessible to a wider range of businesses than before.
Q. What tangible differences will this make to participating factors’ day-to-day activities?
A. The biggest difference is clarity; motor factors already have access to their own sales data. They can see what they’re selling and at what price, but they don’t have context – how does the rest of the market compare? Are they up or down against the national average in certain categories? Which products are trending? Are they selling above or below the market price?
With the new platform, factors get access to cleaner dashboards and reports that let them compare their performance against the wider market. They can deep dive into specific categories, whether that’s braking, lubricants, electrical – whatever matters to them – and see which parts are trending, which are selling for higher or lower prices than the market average, and whether they’re performing above or below the rest of the network.
It provides factors with visibility – acting on evidence, rather than instinct.
Q. How will the changes make a difference to factors’ profitability or ability to seize previously missed opportunities?
A. It’s traditionally been difficult to see what the rest of the market is doing. If a factor is selling a product for more than the market average and margins are healthy, that tells them the prices are elastic – but if they’re selling below the market and margins are tight, is that factor too cheap or is there demand at a higher price point?
Without that market context, they’re guessing. With it, they can make informed decisions about pricing, stocking and where to focus their energy.
The other thing is time; most factors don’t have the resource to analyse vast amounts of data – our dashboards simplify that. They let factors target their relevant categories, compare against the market, and make better decisions without needing a data team to do it.
Q. What kind of data or insights does Factor Sales provide that factors can’t easily access themselves?
A. What’s selling across the aftermarket, at what price, in what volume, based on real transactions, not estimates or surveys.
It gives factors visibility into how they compete against their peers, how they’re performing relative to the wider market, what’s really selling in each category, and whether their stocking and pricing decisions are in line with what the market is doing.
And the key point is that this is built on real transaction data from across our motor factor network, currently covering around 60% of the UK market.
Q. What is Factor Sales’ data telling you right now about the challenges of the sector?
A. The UK aftermarket contracted 4.3% in value and 3.2% in units across 2025 – but the headline numbers don’t tell the full story. The category-level detail is where it gets interesting.
The categories under the most pressure were transmission (down 9.2% in value), body and exhaust (down 7.7%) and brakes (down 7%). These are significant declines. At the other end, cooling and heating was marginally positive, service parts were effectively flat, and suspension and steering was only down 1%.
We also see some fascinating micro-trends in the data – the ‘battery blip’, for example. Every December and January, we see a clear spike in battery sales because people leave their cars sitting over Christmas, the cold weather kills the battery and they need a replacement. Potholes are another one; we’re seeing the impact in suspension and steering components.
Q. Can you share more about 2025?
A. The big theme across 2025 was the divergence between value and unit performance. In several categories, units held up better than value, which points to ongoing pricing pressure and a shift in purchasing behaviour.
Garages are still doing the work, still fitting the parts – but they’re buying differently. There’s a noticeable trend towards lower price points in some categories.
The first half of 2025 set a weaker tone (value down 4.2% and units down 3.5%). The second half didn’t deliver the recovery many in the industry were hoping for (value declined further, down 4.5%).
We anticipate that the ageing UK car parc and the volume of MOTs due will drive increased repair demand. We’ll be releasing our Q1 2026 report soon, and our half-year update will follow at the end of Q2 in June. These reports will be freely available.
Q. What does success look like for Factor Sales over the next couple of years?
A. In the short term, success looks like establishing Factor Sales as the UK’s leader in automotive aftermarket insights. We’re working with suppliers and factors alike to strengthen our reputation and demonstrate the value of what real data can do for this industry.
Once we’ve consolidated the UK – completed our network coverage, standardised the product and built a solid foundation – the next step is Europe. Many of our clients operate across Germany, France, Italy and Spain, and they are asking us for the same visibility in those markets.
But we’re doing this properly; foundations first, then scale. The UK has to be bulletproof before we go anywhere else.
Q. What experience do you bring?
A. I’m relatively new to the trade – and I’ll be honest about that! What I’ve learned quickly is that this is an industry built on relationships and trust. That resonates with me because that’s how I operate. Conversations I’ve had in this industry have reinforced that – people want to work with people they trust, and they want partners who deliver on what they promise – that’s what I’m bringing to Factor Sales.
I am also bringing energy, focus, a willingness to get stuck in and a genuine belief that what we have here can make a real difference to how this industry makes decisions.
