Turners Sells Stake in Canadian Operation

For immediate release
3 July, 2006
Turners Sells Stake in Canadian Operation

Turners Auctions today announced the sale of its 50% stake in Able Auto Auctions (AAA) in Vancouver, Canada. Turners sold its interest in AAA for a cash consideration of CA$100,000 to its Canadian joint venture partners, effective 30 June.

Turners Auctions CEO Graham Roberts said the Canadian business had been a drain on management resources and sale had plugged a financial leak in the business.

“We have worked hard to build the Canadian business into a saleable asset and we are happy with the sale price,” he said.

Mr Roberts said the sale frees up resources in order to be able to focus on Turners’ core operations.

“We are the market leader in New Zealand with only 8% of the market share so we see enormous potential to grow the business here,” said Mr Roberts.

Mr Roberts said a key priority in the short-term was the public launch of Turners Live, a real-time online auction service allowing people to place bids online in competition with “live” bidders. Turners Live has been introduced across all Turners sites in New Zealand and will be available to the public on July 10.

“North America is the biggest automotive market in the world and we have brought considerable knowledge from those operations to our New Zealand business,” said Mr Roberts.

“Through Turners Certified, which provides a six month guarantee on any car purchased, and Turners Live we are opening up our auctions to people anywhere in New Zealand with increased quality assurance and surety,” he said.

ENDS