Cargiant has renewed its exclusive remarketing contract with Aston Barclay to continue a relationship which has delivered £87 million of used car sales in the past five years.

The ID50 2019’s second-placed independent used car retail group by turnover’s decision to stick with Aston Barclay sees a continuation of a 20-year long relationship.

Solus since 2015, the contract has resulted in twice-weekly sales, on Monday and Wednesdays, at Aston Barclay’s flagship Chelmsford site.

John Forsdyke, director of Cargiant, said: “The cultural fit and brand following created by the relationship continues to perform well, and by utilising Aston Barclay’s full range of remarketing services we have seen improvement in service delivery and reduced days to sell.

“We are pleased to continue this relationship and look forward to a continued performance from the Aston Barclay team,” he added.

Martin Potter, managing director of auctions at Aston Barclay, said: “We are pleased to see a continuation of this long-standing arrangement.

“Our team is focused on improved encashment and continues to work with Cargiant to explore all products and services to help them achieve their future used car business goals.”

Cargiant owner Geoff Warren has plans to transform the business’s London headquarters into a specialist electric vehicle (EV) centre.

The used car supermarket operation is looking to drive turnover after plans to redevelop the facility on Hythe Road, West London, stalled last autumn.

Warren was speaking to the London Evening Standard newspaper following publication of 2018 annual financial results which revealed an 11.7% decline in turnover, from £538.6 million to £475.8m, but pre-tax profits improved 10% to £41.6m.

Warren said he wants to create “a large dedicated electric car retail centre to help Londoners make the switch from fossil-fuelled vehicles, which will be important following the introduction of the expanded Ultra Low Emission Zone in 2021”.