BCA acquisition of Aston Barclay in doubt with competition investigation

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating Constellation’s acquisition of rival remarketing specialist Aston Barclay.

The CMA said the investigation has been launched to determine whether the acquisition “has resulted or may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition in any market or markets in the UK”.

Both businesses will continue to operate as separate entities and brands while the investigation is ongoing.

A CMA investigation is a fairly routine situation when two companies look to merge when annual turnover in the UK is of at least £70 million or the combined businesses would have at least a 25% share of the market.

Constellation owns BCA, as well as Cinch, Marshall Motor Group and WeBuyAnyCar.

At the time the acquisition was first announced back in April this year, Constellation said: "Aston Barclay has recently been experiencing difficult market conditions and, as a result, closed its Leeds remarketing centre in January 2025.

"The acquisition aims to secure the longer-term viability of the Aston Barclay network of centres and avoid further closures by bringing further investment into the business, along with incremental volume from the group’s growing WeBuyAnyCar business.​"

Aston Barclay operates five motor auction centres at Chelmsford, Prees Heath, Westbury, Donington Park and Wakefield. Its customers include Hedin Automotive, Arnold Clark and Toyota and Lexus Remarketing.