Leading Used Car Retailers AvailableCar Buy Former Carcraft Site in Leeds

LEEDS, England, November 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Used car supermarket group AvailableCar, have today confirmed the purchase of the 11.5 acre former Carcraft site, located at Junction 28 on the M62 (near Morley) in Leeds. Renovations will begin immediately and the Managerial Team are working towards a January 2016 launch date, where they will open with a newly recruited team of 150 employees and 1500 high quality vehicles priced from £3,000 to £23,000, across 36 brands.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151102/282684 )

Graham Bell, AvailableCar Chairman said: "After having such incredible success with our East and West Midlands based car supermarkets, we felt we wanted to add a Yorkshire location to our portfolio and a high profile city like Leeds is the perfect destination.

"Many of our Managerial Team already live in Yorkshire and have been looking into the former Carcraft site since its closure in April. After viewing, it made sense to purchase an already purposefully designed and built car supermarket. Over £1 million is now being spent on renovations and our car- buying teams are working hard, to ensure we are ready for our opening early next year." 

Hundreds of Jobs for the Region 

Managers have already started the interviewing process and are urging all possible applicants, particularly those who lost their jobs at the former Carcraft site, to come forward now and apply.

Around 150 jobs will be recruited initially in every area of the business from Managers to Team Leaders, plus behind the scenes Car Buyers, Mechanics, Valeters and Administration Teams, to name just a few. Since opening their original site in 2002, this will be the largest recruitment process AvailableCar have ever undertaken in such a timescale. They are looking for the right people to fill the roles across the Yorkshire region. All vacancies can be viewed on-line at http://www.AvailableCar.com/current-vacancies/

A Great Place to Work 

AvailableCar have one of the highest retention levels in the motor trade with a staggering 94% and many of the original employees have been with the business since it opened in 2002.

On-going training in customer services are at the forefront of everything AvailableCar do, with the sole objective of making the customer experience 'world-class' and completely hassle-free from beginning to end, with fixed fair prices for everyone.

As a business, AvailableCar reward employees heavily as stakeholders for doing a great job and they are in fact, one of the few motor groups who offer a 'Profit Related Pay Share Scheme' annually. This sees employees have a share in all Group Profits made as a year-end bonus, which this year will be worth over 16% of every annual salary paid at Christmas (equivalent to almost two months of salary).

AvailableCar are also seeking to recruit many young people thanks to their Apprenticeships Schemes set-up for those students leaving school or graduating from University or College. For those who want to work hard and get promoted through the business, AvailableCar is a great career step for any students, looking for a long-term career in Management.

Used Car Business is Thriving  

AvailableCar feel now is a wise time to invest in the Leeds region as the new and used car Retail Automotive sector is very buoyant.

According to recent reports* new car sales in the first nine months increased 43 consecutive months, meaning 2015 sales have surpassed 2.096 million. This has therefore generated more used cars to sell into the marketplace, offering nearly new and used car customers even better choice and selection and more modern economical cars.

Paul Arscott, Operations Director said, "As a business we hope to win the loyalty of the car buying public living in Yorkshire as we have in the Midlands, by offering our non-pressurised friendly sales environment and fixed low prices for every customer.

"Training all new Team Members to offer our unique customer service is now absolutely crucial in ensuring the customer experience will be world-class." 

*Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT)

For further information visit  http://www.AvailableCar.com/current-vacancies/  

Background Notes to Editor:  

• AvailableCar is a used car supermarket which opened its doors in 2001 at Castle Donington East Midlands. They opened with 40 staff and 400 cars with the intention to change the way customers shop for cars by operating a hassle-free experience with fixed prices on every car.
• Renovations at the new Leeds site will include upgrading the Leeds supermarket including customer facilities, plus investing immediately to reduce all energy usage as already introduced at all their other sites
• The family-owned business has three other supermarket sites in addition to Leeds, based in Sutton-In-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire; Cannock, North Birmingham; and Castle Donington, near East Midlands Airport.
• AvailableCar Leeds hopes to eventually have a 200-strong Team in every area of the business including: car buyers, preparation centre, workshop management, foremen, master technicians, car parts department manager, car parts assistant, office admin, mechanics, fast fit, road testers, tyre fitters, MOT testers, paint shop team leader, painters and preppers, smart repairers/dent technicians, wheel technicians, car valet team managers, valeters, pitch cleaners, drivers, site coordinators, general handy persons site maintenance, general cleaners and administration, photographer; we also have vacancies for an accountant, account staff, admin manager, admin staff, customer service showroom Teams, every vacancy can be viewed now at http://www.AvailableCar.com/current-vacancies/  
• AvailableCar have been a success story, employing over 500 people and stocking over 4,000 cars. With Leeds opening, staff numbers will rise in 2016 to over 650 and stock to over 5000 and by 2017 an additional 10% more staff and stock.
• Latest research published October 2015 on mid-market private growth companies AvailableCar Limited was listed as 100^th in the Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250 League table, sales up 27% to £256.7m in 2014.
• AvailableCar in 2014 sold 19,439 cars, up 55% in two years at prices between £3,000 and £23,000
• The strength of AvailableCar is a family business built on honesty to deliver World-Class Customer Service and have the very best selection of used cars, each car supplied with a 7 day Price Promise.
• AvailableCAR.COM is an award-winning website which allows customers to shop from the comfort of their own home. Every car is listed with full price and specification details and images. Every one of their 4000 cars is available to view on-line prior to a customer visit. AvailableCAR.COM is in the top five most visited car dealer websites in the UK with over 4 million visitors annually.
• AvailableCar work hard with the local community and charities such as RAINBOWS and ACORNS and to date, have raised over £500,000 for these Children's Hospices. AvailableCar plan to support the local Leeds Children's Hospice
• Every member of the AvailableCar Team is regarded as a stakeholder with the shareholders and in December 2014 AvailableCar paid a 266% bonus to all members of staff, which was the equivalent to 13% of their salary (total bonus paid was £1.155 million).  

For further information please contact:  

Dan Evans
PA to Operations Director
Direct Tel: +44-(0)1332-817250
Email: danevans@availablecar.com

Clare Endeacott
PR Officer
Mobile: +44-(0)7833741657
Email: clareendeacott@availablecar.com

http://www.AvailableCAR.COM