Aston Barclay is strengthening its LCV capabilities as a result of the acquisition of Independent Motor Auctions (IMA).
Founded in 1979, Independent Motor Auctions sells both cars and vans from vendors such as Ogilvie Fleet, Arval, Arnold Clark and British Gas, and will expand Aston Barclays’ group sales volumes by 10,000 vehicles per annum.
Under the deal, IMA is being integrated into Aston’s business operations, with all its existing disposal volumes and customer base transferring to Aston Barclay’s new Wakefield super centre over the next quarter. All 20 IMA personnel will join the Aston Barclay family.
IMA’s wide-ranging LCV experience and dedicated team will also support Aston Barclay in growing market share in this area with dealers and fleet vendors.
Its current LCV sale caters for vendors such as British Gas, Yorkshire Water, ADT, National Grid and local councils.
Aston Barclay’s CEO Neil Hodson said, “We are delighted to welcome Independent Motor Auctions to the group which has been well run by the highly experienced Lane brothers. They are a natural fit for us as a business and once our Wakefield site became reality we accelerated our acquisition plans. The auction’s vendor fit is complementary to ours while their LCV expertise adds further value to our proposition.”
Under the changes, Justin Lane, currently managing director of IMA, will assume the role of northern auction operations director at Aston Barclay Group, taking on overall responsibility for Wakefield, Leeds and Donington Park.
Meanwhile, following the transfer of its Leeds car auction activity to its new Wakefield super centre at the end of January, Aston Barclay plans to redevelop the six-acre Leeds site to focus on LCVs.
The firm added that the site Leeds has plenty of space to accommodate LCVs and its proximity to the M1, M62 and A1 will enable Aston Barclay to develop the site into its northern LCV operation.
The other Aston Barclay site that offers LCV sales is Westbury in Wiltshire which hosts a popular fortnightly auction. It will become the group’s southern LCV centre.
Hodson added: “The redevelopment of the Leeds site into a dedicated LCV facility is another milestone for our business operations enabling us to satisfy the needs of our dealer and fleet car vendors who also sell vans.
“The specialist skills we now have available to us following the recent integration of Independent Motor Auctions into our business will enable us to become a recognised operator within the sector. We will gradually introduce new digital technology into the LCV sector, just as we have done with used cars.”
