“Five years ago an entirely online car auction business would
not have worked, but today everyone is much more comfortable with
buying online,” Davies said. Paragon Remarketing aims to sell
25,000 units annually within 18 months’ time, a target which he
described as “ambitious but doable”. 

In a space dominated by two giants, BCA and Manheim, a new
player must “either be significantly cheaper or offer super service
– or both,” Davies said. Paragon Remarketing has hired some
well-known industry figures, with Malcolm Fryer, formerly at Ford,
joining as commercial director, and Paul Joyce taking on the role
of director of sales and events, with Steve Hammond looking after
operations and IT. Davies will report to group MD Stephen
Hucklesby. 

The other Paragon business units, Paragon Automotive and Paragon
Fleet Services (formerly QEK), will share back-office systems with
the auction division, cutting costs and increasing efficiency. In
addition, cars are transported less frequently than is the case
with the traditional auction model, “meaning we can halve the time
it takes to bring a car to market – and share the cost savings with
customers,” Davies said.