BCA Leeds open for business

The first of the former SMA centres to be rebranded as part of the expanded BCA network has ‘hit the ground running’.

BCA Leeds marked its official opening on 29 February with a large dealer part-exchange auction, with entries from Available Cars, Arnold Clark, JCT 600 and Lookers Group. This was followed by a Fleet sale on 1 March, which featured a new sale section on behalf of BMW Group as well as the regular entries from Motability and Tusker.

BCA operations director Stuart Pearson said, ‘BCA Leeds has really hit the ground running with a series of excellent results. The opening sales were absolutely buzzing and it was noticeable that buyers on BCA Live Online were exceptionally active, accounting for significantly higher online activity than the centre had experienced previously.’

He added, ‘Buyers turned out in large numbers and the bidding was competitive throughout, generating high conversion rates and strong price performance. Congratulations to the team at BCA Leeds under manager Matt Gill who pulled out all the stops to ensure the official opening took place smoothly and so successfully.’

BCA Leeds, located on the Cross Green Business Park, Leeds, holds sales Monday to Friday, with general sales every day, fleet sales on Tuesday and LCV sales on Thursday.

BCA Leeds is one of 23 former SMA sites being rebranded as the BCA remarketing network undergoes a series of enhancements in the next two years, covering the midlands, north, south and M1 corridor.

Simon Henstock, BCA’s chief operating officer, UK Remarketing, said, ‘As BCA is handling growing volumes of stock both from existing vendors and new business wins, we are investing in the physical footprint, logistics, technology and process to deliver a comprehensive remarketing service that meets the needs of all our customers.

‘In addition to the network enhancements just announced, BCA is integrating the SMA business, aligning remarketing systems and processes across 23 auction centres nationwide to create a fully cohesive physical and digital marketplace.’

New remarketing sites will be opened in Birmingham, Manchester and Bedford, while the existing BCA site in Blackbushe will be revamped.

Henstock said, ‘Vendors need logistics support, de-fleet and storage facilities, inspection, preparation and appraisal and an efficient and swift route to market that can handle large volumes of vehicles and generate the very best returns to the company bottom line.

‘Buyers need clear and concise data well in advance on the availability and grading of the vehicles on offer. They need pricing data, detailed catalogues, condition reports and high quality imagery and video footage to inform their buying decisions. And, most importantly, they require access to both physical and digital wholesale channels, so they can acquire the stock to meet the needs of their own customers.’