A trio of directors who previously helped drive Imperial Cars to rapid growth have accelerated the expansion of their Carsa used car retail business with the opening of a new showroom in Bradford.
Former Imperial Cars commercial director Jon Churcher, sales director Mike Hawkins and sales support manager Kelly Beattie have overseen the transformation of the former Evans Halshaw Citroen franchise on Kings Road, Bradford, to deliver their third site opening in less than two years.
The used car retail business, launched in 2020, now has showrooms in Southampton, Mountsorrel and Bradford and describes 2022 as being “a big year” as it gears up for the launch of new sites in areas including Birmingham, London and Wales.
Carsa’s rapid growth, and strategy of converting former franchised car dealership, is reminiscent of the growth strategy of Imperial Cars prior to its acquisition by online car retailer Cazoo.
Speaking the Telegraph and Argus newspaper about Carsa’s latest site opening, Beatie said: “This opening is another exciting step in our ambitious growth plans.
“Everyone in the Carsa team is really looking forward to delivering for new customers, not only Bradford but in surrounding areas like Halifax and Morley.
“As a company, we have a very clear motivation, which is to provide a choice of incredible cars, price monitored to ensure we always offer a fair deal in a totally hassle-free, low-stress environment.”
Carsa provides a click and collect service from all its new retail sites as well as offering the option of home delivery to its customers.
It also operates a car buying service.
The business has also recently acquired a huge collection and preparation centre in Eastleigh.
The T&A reported that Carsa was already on target to be moving over 1,200 vehicles through the centre to their showrooms.
Imperial Car Supermarkets was established in 2006 and quickly grew to 18 retail sites prior to its 2020 acquisition by Cazoo, including a 10.8-acre Bristol facility.
Former operations director Neil Smith and managing director Mike Bell told a dealer profile interview for AM they were aiming to have 20 locations operational by the end of that year.
Imperial achieved turnover growth of 41.4% (to £201.4m) in its annual financial results to March 29, 2019, alongside profit in tax down 48.5% to £1.6m (2018: £3.1).