8:11 am, January 26, 2026
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally given the green light to Constellation’s takeover of Aston Barclay, concluding the deal is unlikely to harm competition in the used car auction market.
In a new interim report, the watchdog said it has ‘provisionally found’ the takeover – by Constellation Developments Limited of ABVR Holdings Limited – ‘has created a relevant merger situation’ but ‘has not resulted, and may not be expected to result, in a substantial lessening of competition’ in the supply of business-to-business used vehicle auction services across the UK.
A key factor in the provisional thumbs-up was Aston Barclay’s financial position prior to the takeover.
In report, the CMA said that without the deal its ‘provisional view is that… Aston Barclay would likely have exited the market’ due to financial challenges and a lack of access to capital for the restructuring needed to keep it afloat.
While the watchdog believes that some of Aston Barclay’s assets would have been to sold to other buyers in an insolvency scenario, it said those purchasers were unlikely to recreate a serious national competitor.
The CMA noted that only one potential buyer scenario could have ‘made a material difference’ to competitive conditions — but it is not seen as the most likely outcome.
As a result, the CMA said the loss of Aston Barclay as a separate competitor would have occurred ‘with or without the merger’, meaning the deal does not significantly worsen the market compared with what would likely have happened anyway.
The report stressed that it has only provisionally cleared the takeover, and invited submissions from interested parties by 5pm on February 12, 2026.
The report can be viewed here.
Constellation will likely breath a sigh of relief after this latest development as the takeover has been hanging in the balance since October 2025.
The CMA said it would be stepping up its investigation into the merger in October, after the two auction giants struck a deal in April which would have seen Aston Barclay joining BCA in the Constellation stable.
BCA is currently the largest used car auction group in the UK and the acquisition would add five new auction locations, including Aston Barclay’s two mega centres in Wakefield and Donington Park.
