Premium used car supermarket expands with £1.7m funding

A £1.7 million funding package from Santander UK has allowed The Car Sales Company Bury to open a new showroom and boost its workforce with the addition of 20 new staff.

The premium used car supermarket opened a new showroom this month as it aimed to continue growth after a 150% rise in turnover, to £24.6m (to August 31, 2020), over the past three years.

Stock ranging from a sub-£6,000 Nissan Juke crossover to a £73,000 Nissan GT-R is now on display at the facility on Manchester Road, Bury, with the business’ former premises on James Street now prioritising vehicle preparation and online sales.

The development and additional funding have allowed the business to grow its workforce to 60 and refinance its former retail site.

Faisal Abbas, the managing director of The Car Sales Company Bury, who founded the business back in 2010 with a stock of 10 vehicles, said: “Acquiring our new showroom and being able to take on more employees puts our business in a position to grow our turnover strongly in the coming months.

“Santander UK’s funding has been a huge support to us, putting us on track to achieve our business aspirations over the coming year and beyond.”

Luke Rowbotham, relationship director at Santander UK, said: “We are delighted to be supporting The Car Sales Company Bury to purchase its additional showroom and bring new jobs into the local area.

“This is a family business that started out small and is rapidly growing into an exciting company competing nationally, as well as being a great local employer.”

The Car Sales Company claims that the COVID-19 pandemic has seen its online car sales accelerate from 5% of its volume to over 40%.

As part of its growth plans, the business this year committed to sponsorship of the British Touring Cars Championship’s MB Motorsport racing team.