It has been confirmed that Haversham Holdings has acquired remarketing giant BCA for £1.2 billion.
The company will be renamed to BCA Marketplace, according to London Stock Exchange documentation, and the acquisition should be completed at the beginning of April.
Haversham is lead by former Stobart Group chairwoman Avril Palmer-Baunack.
“The acquisition of BCA represents an important strategic step for Haversham into the automotive sector,” said Palmer-Banuack. “BCA is a market-leading business with a unique position in the used vehicle marketplace. Haversham’s management team sees exciting growth opportunities in the changing European used vehicle market.”
The remarketing company had been owned by private equity company Clayton Dubilier and Rice since 2009.
It planned to float BCA on the London Stock Exchange in October 2014, hoping to raise at least £200m to repay debts, but did not list itself, citing a volatile market.
BCA operates in 12 European markets as well as Brazil. The company owns We Buy Any Car, which buys, used cars from consumers and sells them onto second-hand dealers.
The group hosts 19,000 auctions a year, and last year it oversaw the sale of 900,000 vehicles to 55,000 buyers from 1000 vendors.
Late last year, BCA was given planning approval for its 20 acre Perry Barr remarketing site in the West Midlands. The new site will operate as a complementary multi-channel remarketing and logistics facility to BCA’s existing businesses at Castle Bromwich and Walsall.
A spokesman for BCA declined to comment.