The Competition Market Authority (CMA) is investigating the completed acquisition by Constellation Developments of Aston Barclay.

It has served an initial enforcement order under section 72(2) of the Enterprise Act 2002 on 13 May 2025.

The CMA is considering whether the deal would lead to a “substantial lessening of competition” in the wholesale used car auction business.

Constellation Automotive Group acquired Aston Barclay, including its subsidiary The Car Buying Group in April this year.

It said investment, along with incremental volume from the Group’s WeBuyAnyCar business, will be key to securing the long-term viability of the Aston Barclay network of centres and ensuring further closures are avoided.

It added that Aston Barclay closed its Leeds remarketing centre in January due to difficult market conditions.

The auction house shifted its commercial vehicles over to the Donington Park centre and announced a new and improved sales programme, which launched on 3 February.

It is the largest vertically integrated digital car marketplace in Europe. It handles various services from vehicle logistics, inspection, storage to finance and more.