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[Philip Nothard 26]

http://www.motortrader.com/automotive-news/carcraft-brand-acquired-ahead-relaunch-online-classified-site/

 

Carcraft acquired ahead of relaunch as online classified site

The Carcraft brand has been acquired for an undisclosed sum by Reg and Louis Rix (pictured), the motor trade entrepreneurs who launched Netcars, and will be relaunched as an online used car classified business.

Carcraft, the sixth largest supermarket in the Motor Trader Top 50 Independent Dealers, closed all 10 of it outlets in April with the loss of 550 jobs. The loss-making business had operated for over 60 years and had a turnover of £124m before going into administration.

The Rix brothers are the co-owners of Carfinance247, the online car finance broker, but are best known as the founders of Netcars the online classified site which was sold to the RAC and rebranded as RAC Cars in 2013. Reg Rix

The new owners will relaunch Carcraft as an online classified site which will adopt Netcars’ free to advertise model.

“We intend to re-launch the Carcraft brand as an online used car classified business. The site will be free to advertise on for dealers nationwide and offer consumers an excellent shopping experience with an abundance of choice,” said Reg Rix, managing director.

“It will support our Carfinance247 business that, through our partnerships with some of the UK’s leading lenders, gives customers the best rates of finance to match their personal circumstances and credit rating. Our acquisition follows a phenomenal year of growth for Carfinance247 and is part of our advancement strategy.”

The Rix brothers are confident in the strength of the Carcraft branding despite its administrators Grant Thornton attributing part of its failure as a supermarket chain to its “poor market reputation”.

“Having worked in the motor trade for many years, the Carcraft brand means a lot to us personally as well as a brand we see big potential in going forward. In its heyday Carcraft was a highly successful business and the brand name still attracts a large amount of natural web traffic. We will work hard to re-invigorate consumer confidence in the name by creating a reliable, trustworthy car classified website, delivering the same high levels of technology and service that’s helped us build the Carfinance247 name.”

The Rix brothers started their car retailing career at their father’s dealership, Rix Motor Company, in Warrington, Cheshire.