Manheim’s next-generation auction centre to open its doors

MANHEIM’S next-generation auction centre is set to open for business on Monday at its Bruntingthorpe site, following a multi-million-pound investment.

The Cox Automotive business says the upgraded facility is now the most capable and flexible vehicle auction centre in the UK, and will support sales programmes of all sizes, specialising in single ‘super sales’ of 600 vehicles or more.

During the launch week, Bruntingthorpe will see more than 1,500 cars pass through its lanes, from vendors including BMW Group UK Ltd, Volkswagen Financial Services and Mercedes-Benz Cars UK Ltd.

In addition to new facilities, Manheim will also be the first to bring double blocking to the UK from the US.

Double blocking enables more vehicles to be sold simultaneously by increasing the number of rostrums per lane. With four rostrums across two lanes at Bruntingthorpe, Manheim is predicting an increase in stock throughput of 60 per cent.

Tim Hudson, managing director of Inventory Solutions at Cox Automotive, said: ‘Bruntingthorpe is a next-generation auction centre and represents a big step forward for the industry. We’ve had fantastic feedback from clients about the changes already and it’s creating a real buzz in the marketplace.

‘We have invested in advanced audio-visual technology, a state-of-the-art audio system and a premium executive lounge to offer the ultimate buying experience. The industry-first introduction of double blocking will maximise prime-time selling opportunities, increase stock throughput for our clients, and ultimately help them to sell more vehicles.’

Stewart Hodges, remarketing operations manager for BMW Group UK Ltd, said: ‘We’re very proud to be partnering with Manheim to launch the new site on Monday. Manheim auctions have always been hugely successful for BMW Group UK Ltd, and we look forward to building on this with the Bruntingthorpe centre.’

For the launch, Manheim is partnering with the automotive industry charity Ben to help raise awareness of the not-for-profit organisation. It will also raise funds for Ben by donating a percentage of proceeds to the charity from every auction throughout the launch week.

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