The acquisition brings with it a new site in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, meaning that Charles Trent now has eight vehicle dismantling sites across the country.
Former managing director Mark Hill is to retire after 25 years. Mr Hill said: “The level of investment required to operate successfully these days is making it increasingly difficult for small traditional salvage and dismantling businesses to survive.
“It is possible that the only way forward is to have fewer larger operators, and that way you’d get the necessary economies of scale,” Mr Hill added.
Staff at Mark Hill Salvage have been assured their jobs are safe following the acquisition, which will see all assets, contracts and staff transferring to Charles Trent, although the business will operate “as a semi-independent unit”.
The site has a full waste management licence and is currently awaiting the granting of Authorised Treatment Facility status by the Environment Agency.
Opportunity
Marc Trent, managing director of Charles Trent, said that geographically, the site fitted “perfectly” with the company's strategic goals. Mr Trent said: “We’ve known of Mark Hill Salvage Ltd. for quite some time and when we heard that the business was for sale, naturally we were very interested.
“The existing business provided the ideal opportunity for us to add value in the parts and ELV sector,” Mr Trent explained.
Headquartered in Poole, Charles Trent Ltd processes over 20,000 vehicles each year at its dismantling sites, and has the capacity to depollute over 60,000 vehicles a year to ELV Regulation standards.
The company is a member of the National Salvage Group and National Salvage Association, and with its acquisition of Mark Hill Salvage, it also becomes a member of the Nationwide Automotive Salvage Amalgamation.
Mr Trent said his firm was “still in the market to acquire companies similar to Mark Hill Salvage”, and said news of further developments in the company's strategy is expected shortly.
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