Constellation's purchase of Aston Barclay will move to an in-depth Phase 2 investigation after the CMA identified potential competition concerns.
Constellation Developments Limited (Constellation), through its British Car Auctions (BCA) business, is the largest provider of business-to-business (B2B) used vehicle auction services in Great Britain (GB). ABVR Holdings Limited (Aston Barclay) is the third largest supplier in the same market.
BCA and Aston Barclay compete closely for similar customers across GB, both offering large-scale used vehicle auctions and having a broad geographic reach. Constellation's acquisition of Aston Barclay significantly increases its already strong market position. Aside from one supplier, other competitors only exert a limited competitive constraint on BCA, given their smaller scale and more limited geographic coverage.
Having conducted a Phase 1 merger investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is concerned the merger may reduce competition, potentially leading to higher prices and/or a reduction in choice for customers using used vehicle auction services, with a subsequent impact on the prices consumers pay for used vehicles.
