Mike Pilkington joins BCA Marketplace as COO as revenues boom

Mike Pilkington has joined BCA Marketplace plc as chief operating officer BCA Services based at BCA’s Birmingham logistics hub. The BCA Services division consolidates BCA’s inspection, storage and logistics services.

Pilkington brings to the role wealth of experience gained in major positions across the remarketing and defleet sectors. Most recently he was managing director, Paragon Automotive and, prior to that, Manheim, where he was chief strategy officer UK and Europe and managing director of Manheim Remarketing.

Pilkington commented “BCA is the market leader in Europe and has ambitious plans to add value across the vehicle lifecycle chain with a strong core proposition and a raft of complementary services and products.

“This is an exceptional opportunity to join the Group at the start of a significant journey that will alter the landscape of the vehicle services sector.”

Avril Palmer-Baunack, executive chairman, BCA Marketplace added: “We are committed to attracting the very best talent in the industry to join the highly experienced and successful BCA team, and Mike has an enviable track record in the industry both as a business leader and an innovator.

“Mike will play a key role as we continue to develop and enhance the broader BCA vision to simplify and improve the efficiency of the wholesale used car supply chain for our customers, alongside the exceptional customer service we always strive to deliver to the users of BCA Marketplace.”

She added “With our recent investment in BCA Automotive, the largest vehicle logistics fleet in the UK with over 500 Car Transporters, our continued investment in de-fleet and refurbishment sites and our capability and innovation in imagery with Autos on Show, BCA is well placed to continue to broaden its delivery of the full supply chain needs of our customers. We are delighted he has joined us at this exciting time for the automotive services sector.”

At the same time BCA Marketplace revealed that it will pay a maiden interim dividend, on the back of a strong performance in the first nine months of its financial year.

In a statement released on Monday, the group said total revenue for the BCA Marketplace business was £546.3 million, with no comparative figure as the company was only incorporated in the group in September last year.

In the six months to 4 October, revenue for the BCA Group arm increased 21% year-on-year to £525.8 million, boosted by a strong performance in the remarketing segment, driven by strong domestic demand, which offset a subdued international growth.

Palmer-Baunack said: “The second half trading has started well, a new OEM tender has been won, and with the continued focus on organic and strategic growth, alongside improvements in operational efficiency, the board remains confident that this will continue for the full year and into the next financial year.”

Haversham Holdings, a consortium of investors acquired BCA in March, renaming the company BCA Marketplace.