Kwik-Fit Insurance Services, the broking arm of the Kwik-Fit group, has written off £1.8m of investment in a new IT system.
It revealed the write-off in its 2002 accounts, which showed that turnover grew to £27.1m in the year from £21.6m in 2001.
Finance director June Lynch said: "We spent money that we believe now has no value to the end implementation, so it was written off."
The system requirements had changed since the original specification was drawn up as the business grew beyond its core motor lines.
"What we're about to implement is very different from the original specification," Lynch said.
The one-off cost was the result of a balance sheet review by owner CVC, which bought Kwik-Fit from Ford last year. It appeared in the accounts as a £4.4m loss due to the way in which earnings are transferred to its parent.
Lynch said: "We made a pre-tax profit in 2002 of about £1.8m but we get charged a licence fee by the group for the use of the brand."
