Rental car owner buys British Car Auctions

The second hand vehicle firm, British Car Auctions (BCA), has been bought out by the owner of Hertz for what is believed to be around £390 million. The US firm, Clayton, Dubilier and Rice (CD&R) has agreed on the deal to buy the billion pound business from Montagu Private Equity, a fellow buyout firm from the US.

BCA is one of the largest second hand car firms across the world and they have 45 branches that are found in 12 countries. The firm has annual turnover thought to be around ?4 billion every year and has sold 70,000 cars this year in the Uk alone. They sell vehicles on behalf of a number of different firms like car rental companies, leasing companies, manufacturers and dealers.

Hertz have been using the firm to sell of their older fleet every year for a while now, after every time they get a new batch of cars. There will be not much change at the top as the chief executive, Jon Olsen, will remain, but partner in CD&R Fred Kindle will become chairman of the group.

He firm has been operating for 45 years and has shown a great growth over time to where they are today. CD&R are said to be overjoyed at the purchase and will now be looking forward at expansion for the firm into new countries and offering new services. It will be a long road to take for the firm, but they see it as the next stepping stone to improving their customer focus.