News Release – 23-09-20

 

 

Copart UK embarks on ambitious growth programme

 

Global leader in online vehicle remarketing, Copart UK, are significantly increasing their vehicle storage capacity with an ambitious growth programme underway to allow strategic development and expansion across the UK.

In 2019, Copart celebrated the addition of a further 22 acres of land at their Bristol Operation Centre with an official opening ceremony. Now, with a further 23 acres in their ownership at this location, they are preparing for development and use later this year.

The company also recently acquired and secured planning permission for an expansion to their Operation Centre in York, adding a further 7 acres of land. This is being prepared for use towards the end of 2020, alongside a 5-acre expansion of their Wisbech Operation Centre.

These expansions, alongside continuous improvement at other UK Operation Centres, will provide storage for an additional 6,000 vehicles, increasing overall storage capacity by over 10% ahead of the coming winter.

With the continued support of Copart US, there are also further investment opportunities in the pipeline to potentially increase capacity with major new developments planned across the UK.

Simon Sheldon-Wilson, Director of Property, Security and Specialist Services, said:

“Our continued success means that our requirement for land continues to grow. We currently own over 537 acres – that's bigger than the entire country of Monaco - giving us the capacity to process around 60,000 vehicles at any one time. Our strategy for ongoing growth means we have embarked on an ambitious programme to identify, acquire and develop additional land for our business.”

The expansion of Copart’s existing Operation Centres is part of their dual strategy to both develop and acquire land to better serve their customers across the UK.

Phil Briggs, Director of Operation Centres, Transport & Engineering, said:

“It’s a very exciting time for Copart UK as we continue to grow in line with customer demand. Following the recent expansion of our logistics fleet, this significant investment into land acquisition and the extension and improvement of our existing Operation Centres will further strengthen our UK wide storage capacity, offering our customers the convenience of additional locations across the country and enabling us to continue providing the industry leading service they have come to expect.”

 

Copart UK was established in 2007 and handles over 400,000 vehicles each year through online auctions for a variety of customers including finance companies, banks, dealers, fleets, rental car companies and the insurance industry; as well as franchised, independent and wholesale motor traders. Members can choose salvage and non-salvage vehicles including agricultural and plant, HGVs, commercial vehicles, motorcycles and more; with thousands of vehicles available to bid on each day. Copart was founded in the USA in 1982; and has locations throughout Asia, North and South America, the Middle East and Europe, including 16 locations across the UK. Copart is listed on NASDAQ and is a member of Standard and Poor’s 500 index. In 2015, Copart was ranked at the top of Deloitte’s “The Exceptional 100” list of companies. In 2019, Copart UK was awarded with the prestigious CCA Global Standard Accreditation by the Customer Contact Association.