Management at one of the 海角视频’s biggest car storage facilities are expanding into new sites, giving them space to store tens of thousands more cars.
The team at , in south Leicestershire, is making a “significant investment” at the former RAF Wyton base in Cambridgeshire, which will give it an overall storage capacity to hold around 55,000 cars.
The business has taken a 10 year lease on the site.
Right now the 680-acre former US Air force strip at Bruntingthorpe holds around 25,000 vehicles for major car manufacturers.
The Leicestershire aerodrome is owned by C Walton, a family business, which has also invested in a huge paint and refurbishment shop on the site, making it a one-stop-shop for clients who want to store and refurbish their stock.
Around one in five cars stored there are sold through a Manheim auction, which is also based there.
Paul Atkin, general manager for business development at Bruntingthorpe, said turnover was £48 million in the year to June, 2018, and annual growth was continuing at 10-20 per cent a year.
A decade ago, he said, turnover was £6 million, with car storage just a small part of that.
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He said: “We have grown an incredible amount over the last few years and hope that continues.
“Today, 90-95 per cent of out business is vehicle storage.
“We have a contract with one major manufacturer for brand new cars, which is 20 per cent of our stock.
“We are the second biggest storage site in the country now after British Car Auctions.
“And the work we do here is not just about storing cars – we have thousands of ex-fleet and ex-rental cars, ranging from three-months to four-years-old.
“Even a three-month-old car will have stone chips or dinged wheels, so we refurbish them here too.
“In fact we refurbish around 3,000 cars a week, getting them back to forecourt quality for the manufacturers. About 20 per cent are sold on through the Manheim auction.”
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Mr Atkin said they were winding down use of the airfield for large aircraft, but its aircraft museum would be staying. It was also where the last flying Vulcan bomber was restored prior to its retirement five years ago.
There are also a handful of tenants on the vast site, including a Royal Enfield design facility which, he said, was doing well.
Mr Atkin said: “We have recently taken on the former RAF Wyton, near Huntingdon, Cambs, which is pretty much as big as Bruntingthorpe.
“We opened that in November, last year, and the first job was to get planning for six new buildings.
“We are also investing in paint shops and new valeting bays – it is not an insignificant investment.
“We have had key staff move down there from here and it is a 100 acre site, with space for around 20,000 cars.”
He said they were also sharing a site at Long Bennington, near Newark, in Lincolnshire, where they have 50 acres which is already full.
He said: “Over the coming year we are expecting continuing growth and looking for contracts to fill the site at Wyton.”