Manheim Auctions, Colchester welcomed 1,086 buyers as 1,100 Lex Autolease vehicles went under the hammer last Friday.

All the lanes at the four-lane auction centre were packed with a mix of stock which included 600 fleet units, 200 Black Horse vehicles, 200 commercial vehicles and 100 convertibles.

The sale attracted a record 425 buyers to the Colchester site with a further record breaking 661 buyers bidding online via Simulcast across the four lanes.

Online buyers logged on from as far away in the UK as Gateshead, Belfast, Perth, Swansea and Taunton as well as further afield in mainland Europe and Ireland.

The overall conversion rate of 93% resulted in over 1,000 vehicles being sold on the day at a total value of just under £7 million.

Very lively bidding across all four lanes and online via Simulcast resulted in some strong values being achieved against the October CAP values, with the Lex Autolease fleet vehicles achieving 99.1% of CAP Clean, Black Horse vehicles 94.2% of CAP Clean and commercial vehicles achieving 106% of CAP Average.

Commercial vehicles were also in great demand selling just short of £800,000 of stock with an average value of £4,272 per vehicle and a sales conversion rate of 106% of CAP Average.

Glenn Sturley, vehicle remarketing director, Lex Autolease said: “The unique four-lane layout at Colchester was a perfect setting for our mega sale and the buyer attendance was outstanding both online through Simulcast and in physical attendance.

“The Lex Autolease and Manheim teams worked tirelessly together to make the day a success for both ourselves and the buyers who attended in person or online. There was a real buzz throughout the entire sale day and I am delighted that this pioneering approach has been such a great success.”