The UK’s fastest growing private companies: Hot 100 2015 – (77) SMA Vehicle Remarketing

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Name: SMA Vehicle Remarketing 
Industry/sector: Retail and related services
Date founded: 2008
The boss: Bob Anderson
Location: Yorkshire and the Humber
Latest turnover: £23.5m
Three-year compound growth rate (%): 32.4
Latest EBITDA: £3m

Scottish Motor Auctions was acquired by sister company SMA Vehicle Remarketing in 2014.

Finance director David Seabridge said the merged group, which agreed to a £13m refinance deal with Lloyds Banking Group, has continued to invest in improving its facilities and auction centres. This included a £200,000 spend on updating facilities in Kinross. 

It has also continued to invest heavily in its IT infrastructure, which includes an online bidding system, with managing director Bob Anderson noting that in some auctions 20 per cent of sales come via the internet. The company also released an app. By scanning the displayed QR code using the apps built-in QR scanner, buyers can get full stock details on their smartphone.

Commenting on the latest steps in SMA’s growth strategy, Anderson noted that SMA had established a strong reputation for delivering technology that worked. He said: “We continue to do this by listening to customers first and foremost and then by delivering effective technology. It sounds simple, but the capacity to deliver on technology innovations too often gets delayed, or bogged down. We have avoided this ‘trap’ thanks to a clear digital strategy, great people and a leading edge technology platform.”

Technology has been a central part of the company’s strategy, he explained. 

With locations in Edinburgh, Leeds, Newcastle upon Tyne, Kinross and Northern Ireland, and soon to be joined by Birmingham, SMA’s growth has created roles across the business and in total the business aims to recruit up to 110 new people in 2015.

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