Shoreham has identified an area between Chichester and Brighton on the south coast up to Farnborough in the west, Essex in the east and Hertfordshire in the north as a used car “micro climate”.

Within the area, two SVA auctions in the past fortnight for two national finance companies saw Shoreham report conversion rates of 93% and 100% respectively with prices remaining strong against CAP values. That compares with reported auction conversion rates around the country of nearer 50-60%.

‘Economically this area is booming and whatever used car volumes are thrown at it they seem to get swallowed up with prices remaining strong,’ explained Alex Wright, managing director of Shoreham Vehicle Auctions.

‘Franchised dealers and independents alike are reporting strong demand for used cars and buyers are keeping their forecourts fully stocked to take advantage of the market.

‘We entered both auctions expecting to experience a slight fall in conversion rates but it never came and we can see the market remaining buoyant until the expected slowdown in the summer months,’ he added.

Sale highlights included strong bidding on the Citroën C1, Peugeot 3008, Vauxhall Zafira, VW Polo, Golf and Renault Grand Scenic, with all models making strong money against CAP.

‘Our sales performance is keeping vendors happy and we believe that while the economy in the south east continues to grow faster than the rest of the country, there will be a major imbalance in auction conversion rates and prices,’ said Wright.