Private equity groups compete for BCA

BCA, Britain and Europe’s largest vehicle auction group, has attracted bids from a clutch of private equity groups that are expected to submit final offers next month.

The bids are expected to value the company at up to £500 million. Bridgepoint, Cinven, BC Partners and Clayton Dubilier & Rice are all expected to reach the second round of bidding for BCA.

The Financial Times speculated that CD&R may have an edge in the auction as it already owns Hertz, the car rental group, which uses BCA to sell its older vehicles when it renews its fleet.

BCA was bought by private equity group Montagu for £450m in 2006. Montagu split the operating company of BCA from its property arm, which is valued at about £250m and is not expected to be sold. (Financial Times: November 11).

BSM bosses in £10m buy-out

Bosses of the British School of Motoring (BSM), UK’s leading driving school, have bought the company for £10 million.

German turnaround and restructuring specialist Arques Industries bought BSM from Aviva for £36 million in February.

Now, just nine months later, joint BSM managing directors Abu-Haris Shafi and Nikolai Kesting, who joined the business at the time of the Arques acquisition, have taken control of the business.

BSM recently announced a partnership with Fiat, which has seen its car fleet change from Vauxhall, and also secured a four-year financial partnership with Barclays Commercial Bank.

BSM, with headquarters in Bristol, has 94 centres and over 3,000 driving instructors across the UK.

The two men say they have ambitious plans for BSM as the business moves into its centenary year. There is an expansion programme in place which includes the opening of new centres and a drive to recruit another 3,000 driving instructors to the business in the next two years.

Mr Shafi said: “We are excited to be taking this strong British brand forward and continuing its growth by offering the best expertise for learners and a secure financial future for our staff and instructors.”

Felix Frohn-Bernau, member of the board of Arques, added: “This is the ideal time for us to sell and for Abu and Nikolai to take full ownership of the British School of Motoring and continue to take the company to the next level. They have been successful in growing the business over the last nine months and securing important partnerships to enable its future success.” (BSM: November 10).

AA demands government action over trainee driving instructors

Up to 7,000 driving instructors are believed to be trainees working for driving schools across the UK, according to the AA.

With one in eight of all driving instructors believed to be trainees the motoring organisation is demanding government action to force driving schools to come clean when they use trainee instructors to teach young people to drive.

The call comes as an AA/Populus survey revealed serious concerns among motorists over the safety of drivers taught by trainee instructors and overwhelming rejection of the practice of driving schools charging full price for lessons with a trainee.

Ninety-seven per cent of AA members say learner drivers should have the right to be told if their driving instructor is learning on the job, according to the survey of more than 13,000 people.

Legally driving schools can place a learner with a trainee instructor and charge full lesson rates, without telling the pupil or their parents that the instructor is not fully-qualified.

The only legal requirement to disclose that an instructor is learning on the job is for the trainee to display an official pink badge in the windscreen.

Now AA president Edmund King has written to Road Safety Minister Paul Clark to raise these concerns and to call for urgent action to guarantee learners and parents an informed choice.

He said: “Seldom have motorists spoken with such a united voice on an issue. Parents have serious concerns about entrusting young learners with trainee instructors. One in five new drivers will have an accident within a year of passing their test, so it’s only natural to want the best instruction. Yet driving schools do not even have to tell you when the person teaching your son or daughter is learning on the job.” (AA: November 13).

Renault-Nissan to challenge Tata with low-cost car

Renault-Nissan is planning to launch what is likely to be the world’s cheapest car in 2012, undercutting the Tata Nano, which sells in India for around £1,300 plus taxes.

Renault-Nissan has signed a deal with Bajaj Auto, an Indian group best known for its motorcycles and three-wheelers.

The companies are collaborating on an ultra-low-cost runabout, which will go on sale on the sub-continent in 2012 and may be offered in other countries.

Renault-Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn said: “I can tell you the cost of this car would be lower than any car today made in India.” (The Times/Financial Times: November 11).

Pre-Budget Report date set

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling will make his Pre-Budget Report statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday, December 9 at 12:30pm. The Pre-Budget Report will be the last before a general election, which must take place by June 2010. (HM Treasury: November 11).

New moves to boost safety for motorcyclists and lorry and bus drivers

Measures to improve skills and safety for new motorcycle riders, drivers of lorries and buses and new drivers who want to tow medium sized trailers have been published by the Department for Transport (DfT) in conjunction with the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

The measures are contained in a consultation on the implementation of new European requirements on driver testing, training, examination and licensing which come into force in 2013. The Third Directive on Driving Licences was adopted at the end of 2006, will be transposed into national law by mid-January 2011 and come into practical effect by mid-January 2013.

The main aspects of the new requirements are:

• Motorcyclists – The current two categories of motorbike will be replaced with three – A1 (up to 125cc), A2 (up to 35Kw) and A (above 35Kw) – and new rules introduced for riders of larger bikes. Riders wanting to progress to larger categories of motorbikes will have to take additional training or a further test and there will be a rise in the minimum age from 21 to 24 for those wanting to start riding larger bikes without previous experience.

• Trailer towing – New car and light van drivers wanting to tow trailers may also be affected. The consultation proposes that drivers will be able to tow a slightly larger trailer on a normal car driving licence (category B), if they take a further test or undertake training. There will also be a restriction on the overall size of the vehicle/trailer combination that can be driven on a category B+E licence entitlement (car/light van plus trailer).

• Licence renewals for bus and lorry drivers – At present, drivers of medium-sized and large buses and lorries need to renew their licences every five years once they reach the age of 45. Over-45s also need to demonstrate their fitness to drive through a full medical report. From 2013, under-45s who drive these vehicles will also need to confirm medical fitness and renew their licence every five years. However, under-45s will not require a full medical report and will still only need to renew their photograph every 10 years. All other drivers and riders will continue to renew their driving licences every 10 years as is currently the case.

• Driving examiners – compulsory initial qualification, periodic training and quality assurance checks for driving examiners will be required for driving examiners. The DSA already fulfils most of these requirements but the introduction of periodic training will enhance these existing arrangements, it says.

DSA chief executive Rosemary Thew said: “It’s important that everyone has the skills they need to drive or ride safely. We are already working closely with the groups and industries that will be affected by these new requirements. I urge anyone with an interest in road safety to respond to the consultation and give us their views on how these new measures should be introduced.”

The consultation ‘Driver Testing, Training, Examining and Licensing: Implementing New European Union Requirements’ runs until February 5, The consultation can be found at: www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/thirddirective (DSA: November 11).

Business drivers support hands-free driving

More than half (59%) of business drivers are supportive of a new system that would cut fuel consumption and allow them to travel down the motorway hands free on auto-pilot, according to research conducted by Lex Autolease.

The Road Train system, aimed at drivers who cover long distances for work, would link a pool of vehicles together using wireless sensors.

The lead vehicle would be handled by a professional driver, who would monitor the status of the road train and control the cars within it. Those in following vehicles could take their hands off the wheel, read a book or even watch TV, while they travel along the motorway.

According to Lex Autolease’s survey, 58% of drivers would be happy in the knowledge that their vehicle would be under automatic control. Meanwhile, 56% said that they should be permitted to use a mobile phone if they were part of a road train.

However, 50% of those surveyed thought that the professional driving the lead vehicle in a road train should be held responsible if they had an accident.

Early work on the EU-financed Road Trains research project suggests that fuel consumption could be cut by 20% among those cars and trucks travelling behind the lead vehicle.

A statement from Lex Autolease said: “Initiatives to reduce business drivers’ fuel consumption and therefore the impact on their company’s bottom line should be welcomed, however with Road Trains currently being trialled, in the short-term there are a number of strategies that British businesses can adopt with a view to reducing their fleets fuel bill.

”Driver training and changes in driver behaviour have a significant impact on fuel consumption, thereby having a positive impact on a company’s bottom line.” (Employeebenefits.co.uk: November 11).