A £1 million investment in doubling the Prees Heath auction site to seven acres earlier this year is already paying off for the Aston Barclay Auction Group.

October saw the Prees Heath site sell 1,188 cars, a record for the Shropshire-based auction in its 50-year history and proof that the extra land is helping reach the auction’s potential annual sales of 20,000 vehicles.

The site performed particularly well in the company car fleet sector with one high-profile contract hire sale selling 280 cars in one day, while its car dealer part-exchange auction has also generated strong results.

Aston Barclay purchased the extra 3.5 acres adjacent to the Whitchurch site in Heath Road in February 2010 to provide additional hard-standing and storage space for cars ready for auction and those that have been sold and are awaiting collection.

Parking has also been improved as has the site’s brand-new valeting bay, helping attract new buyers and vendors to the site.

A second weekly sale has been launched for fleet and dealer vendors now the site development is complete and Aston Barclay has expanded its workforce from nine to 30 employees.

“Although Prees is based in rural Shropshire, its buyer catchment area includes Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and North and South Wales,” explained Prees Heath’s general manager Lisa Grimsley.

“As more vendors and buyers get to know about Prees so the volume of cars being entered and sold are increasing month on month, culminating in the site’s best ever performance.”.

Visit: www.astonbarclay.net/prees-heath