Going, going, gone – motor auctioneer sold
A FAMILY-run firm of motor auctioneers on Lancashire’s Fylde coast has been taken over by a Leeds-based rival.
West Coast Motor Auctions in Poulton-le-Fylde near Blackpool has been bought by Independent Motor Auctions in a seven-figure deal which includes both the business and the property.
The takeover will assist with IMA’s expansion as the company not only branches into a new region but also into auctioning motorbikes as well as cars.
All 16 of WCMA’s staff will be retained adding to IMA’s current team of 22. In the coming year, the company plans to create a number of new jobs as part of its growth plans.
WCMA has a longstanding reputation spanning almost 30 years and IMA has acquired the business due to retirement. The business will be rebranded as Independent Motor Auctions Blackpool.
Earlier this year IMA invested a £250,000 in two new transporters to increase delivery capacities and to assist with its growth plans.
The fleet itself is now made up of a nine-car artic transporter, a five-car rigid transporter and two six-car transporters. Thanks to the new acquisition, IMA now plans to increase its fleet further in the coming months with the order of two more seven-car transporters due early 2017.
The Lane family originally bought into Independent Motor Auctions in 2002, taking full ownership from March 2006 along with Martin Britton who joined the Lanes as sales director, and since then the company has experienced continued growth in a competitive marketplace with turnover now in the region of £20m a year.
