The acquisition of Aston Barclay by British Car Auctions (BCA) has been approved by the UK’s competition watchdog following a detailed investigation.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed the deal would not significantly harm competition in the business-to-business used vehicle auction sector.
Constellation Automotive Group, owner of BCA, purchased Aston Barclay – including its subsidiary The Car Buying Group – for an undisclosed sum in April 2025.
Shortly after the transaction was announced, the CMA issued an initial enforcement order in May 2025 to assess whether the acquisition could lead to a “substantial lessening of competition”.
CMA clears auction deal
Such investigations are relatively routine where merging companies meet certain thresholds, including UK annual turnover of at least £70 million or a combined market share exceeding 25%.
The CMA referred the transaction for a more detailed investigation in October 2025 before releasing its final report on March 5, 2026.
The regulator concluded that the acquisition has “not resulted, and may not be expected to result, in a substantial lessening of competition” within the business-to-business (B2B) used vehicle auction market.
While the CMA acknowledged that Aston Barclay previously acted as a significant competitive constraint on BCA, the authority determined that the business would likely have exited the market had the acquisition not taken place.
Market pressure highlighted
The CMA noted that Aston Barclay had been operating as a loss-making business prior to the takeover, meaning competition could have reduced regardless.
Aston Barclay currently operates five auction centres located in Chelmsford in Essex, Prees Heath in Shropshire and Westbury in Wiltshire, alongside “mega centres” at Donington Park and Wakefield.
When announcing the acquisition in April 2025, Constellation Automotive Group said Aston Barclay had been facing challenging market conditions and had already closed its Leeds remarketing centre earlier that year.
The group said the purchase would help secure the future of the auction network through new investment and additional vehicle volumes, including stock sourced from its WeBuyAnyCar operation.
Aston Barclay was founded in 1984 by Les Scarborough and was later owned by the Scarborough family.
Both BCA and Aston Barclay operate large-scale used vehicle auctions across Great Britain, competing for similar trade customers and offering nationwide remarketing services.