3:08 pm, October 23, 2023
Big Motoring World has snapped up two of rival Available Car’s used car supermarkets as it targets a £1bn turnover next year.
Speaking exclusively to Car Dealer, boss Peter Waddell said he’d ‘been quiet for a while’ as he inked the deal with Available Car and launched a handful of new ventures.
Available Car was founded in 2002 by Graham Bell, and his son, Michael, currently holds the CEO’s chair.
‘We did a deal and we’ve taken over Available Car’s Leeds and Cannock sites, which will now be dressed up as Big Motoring World sites, while Castle Donington and Sutton-in-Ashfield will continue to be run by the great man himself – Mr Bell,’ said Waddell in the video interview, which you watch at the top of this story.
Available Car had four locations, with Castle Donington being its original and flagship site.
The used car supermarket firm currently has 4,000 cars in stock, according to its website, and turns over around £330m a year.
Car Dealer reported Big Motoring World was considering making the move last August.
Available Car’s two remaining sites won’t have any involvement with Big Motoring World and will remain a separate, independent business.
‘Graham is getting older and he’s done a great job – he has a great brand with great people,’ said Waddell.
‘We wanted to expand so we approached them and we got a deal. It was a seven-month process getting it over the line.’
Some 200 new employees will join the business.
Along with the acquisition, Waddell revealed that Big Motoring World Group has created a new auction app that will go live next year, and a new finance company called Car Loan.
Meanwhile, the company plans to increase its BigWantsYourCar.com platform from selling 140 cars a day to 500 a day next year.
With the acquisition and the business’s new ventures, Waddell is aiming for a £1bn turnover with profits of £50m.
Last year, Big Motoring World saw pre-tax profit soar by 65 per cent to £10.9m.
News of the Available Car deal comes nearly three years after Big Motoring World revealed it was on the hunt for new sites.
Since then, five locations have been added, including the latest two dealerships in Leeds and Cannock.
In the interview, Waddell also explains why his business is outperforming many others in the used car supermarket sector, and his expectations for the used car market in 2024.
You can watch the full interview at the top of this story.
Peter Waddell will be a headline interviewee at our Car Dealer Live conference in Gaydon on March 7, 2024. Get your tickets here.
