Leading Used Van Auction House to Close Middlesbrough Site
Monday 30 January 2012 Back to Blog
Leading van auction house Manheim is to close its Middlesbrough auction centre following an assessment and restructuring of its business.
The Middlesbrough auction house of Manheim has twenty employees and following a review it was discovered that this auction house only accounts for 1% of Manheim's business. The employees are about to enter a consultation process.
Manheim specialise in main dealer part exchange and is popular among businesses who buy a used van rather than van lease or contract hire new commercial vehicles.
It is not all doom and gloom at the auction house however, as following the review Manheim has opened a new auction house in Coventry, as demand in the Midlands for its services are high.
A spokesman for the company said: "Reduced volumes are expected in the wholesale market this year following significant falls in new car registrations in 2008 and 2009 and the continuing challenge in retail sales will put pressure on part exchange volumes.
Whilst Middlesbrough's vendors and buyers will be accommodated at Manheim's other auction centres in the region sadly there will be a number of redundancies at the Middlesbrough site as a result of the closure and we are working closely with the team there to help secure alternative employment."
Auction houses will be under additional pressure this year following the changes made to the London Low Emission Zone, which older vehicle swill struggle to meet. Subsequently the demand for used commercial vans will decline.