Business

Wilsons acquires latest auction business in England

Managing director Ian Wilson (left) with Peter Johnston, group operations director.
Managing director Ian Wilson (left) with Peter Johnston, group operations director. Managing director Ian Wilson (left) with Peter Johnston, group operations director.

Mallusk-based Wilsons Auctions has announced its latest acquisition in England.

The purchase of West Oxfordshire Motor Auction Ltd in Witney, takes the family-owned Co Antrim group to 19 sites, including ten auction sites.

Wilsons said the deal cements its status as the UK and Ireland’s largest independent auction company.

The Oxfordshire site’s the 27-strong workforce will move into the Wilson’s group, along with its weekly car auctions that currently see 30,000 vehicles go under the hammer annually.

The site, which is set to undergo extensive refurbishment, will be rebranded Wilsons Auctions, Oxford.

Group operations director, Peter Johnston said, “We do not think of acquisitions as vanity projects or a competition as to who has more ‘dots on the map’. We move carefully and would only consider an acquisition if an organisation fitted with our family business ethos, as we have shown numerous times in the past.

“West Oxfordshire Motor Auction Ltd is exactly that sort of fit, an excellent family run business carefully nurtured over many years by its current owners, and with excellent staff committed to their careers.

“Importantly the team at West Oxfordshire Motor Auction Ltd share our values of remaining true to the tradition of auctioneering,” he said. “Working solely for vendors and purchasers, and have not crossed a line to become buyers and resellers of the stock they are entrusted to sell, as have many of our auction peer group."