BCA is marking its 70th anniversary this year, following its first sale by founder David Wickins in 1946.Held at Frimley Bridges, the event sold 14 cars. Today BCA deals with over 3.5 million vehicles a year and has achieved a number of landmarks, including becoming the first UK auction group to operate in Europe, the first to stage electronic auctions, the first to launch a website and the first to auction vehicles on the internet.

The company recently announced a strategic expansion across the UK to add capacity to its network, which has seen the integration of the recently-acquired Scottish Motor Auction Group (SMA) business, the acquisition of car transporter Stobart Automotive and automotive services provider Ambrosetti . The BCA family also includes the WeBuyAnyCar.com brand.

Simon Henstock, BCA’s chief operating officer, UK remarketing, who has nearly 40 years of experience with the company, said: “Auctions are the stock market of the used car sector and handle everything from nearly-new models to older high mileage examples. This flexibility, and the capability to handle huge volumes of vehicles quickly and efficiently, is why vehicle auctions continue to thrive in a rapidly changing marketplace.

“As the market leaders, BCA has evolved to meet these changing needs, improving the service to customers and offering different ways to buy. For example, the business uses a bespoke iPad app to deliver accurate and consistent pre-sale appraisals on all vehicles entered for sale, which links directly to BCA’s online catalogues to generate a condition report alongside high quality images.”

He added: “Buyers in the auction hall compete with online bidders on almost every vehicle we sell and 25% of all vehicles sold at BCA are purchased online. We also offer over 400,000 vehicles a year with the benefit of a BCA Assured mechanical inspection which is an independent multi-point vehicle check carried out by the AA at BCA. After 70 years, BCA is still driving innovation in the market.”