Britannia AuctionsBusiness closure auctions in Milton Keynes
The grid roads were laid out to keep lorries away from housing, which is one reason retail distributors, parcel carriers and motorsport suppliers came here in the first place. When a retail supply contract ends at Magna Park or Mount Farm, or a motorsport programme is wound up on Knowlhill, the shape of the estate is only half the answer. We measure the yard, the gate and the loading door before we say how long the collection window has to be.
We catalogue on site, run the sale online as a timed auction, and hand the removal to the buyers during a fixed collection window. Bidding runs online and is open to the rest of the country. The stock and racking trade at Bedford, Northampton, Luton and Aylesbury is close enough to inspect the lots before the sale closes, and engineering kit is described for the smaller set of trades that use it.
Tell us the date the keys go back and we plan the sale from there.
Returns, overstock and the racking it sat on
A retail distribution shed closes with stock in it, and the stock is often worth more than the equipment. Overstock, returns, samples and end of line goods are lotted by product type with a sample photographed from each, so that traders and discounters can bid by the pallet. Anything with a brand restriction or a recall notice comes out first. Tell us about it before we walk the floor.
The racking, mezzanines, pick trolleys, packing benches and conveyors suit other operators on the same estates and the dealers who strip and resell. It often helps to release the fork trucks and pallet trucks late, so that handling equipment is on site while the racking comes down, and we agree that order with you.
Parcel carriers add a fleet element. Vans, cages, roll containers and the odd trailer all sell. Vans on lease go back to the lessor. Owned vans are lotted with the V5 and the mileage, and a buyer can collect one as soon as the invoice is paid and the lot released.
Motorsport and engineering units clear to a small, keen trade
When a race programme ends or a technology firm winds up on Knowlhill or Wolverton Mill, the equipment is specialised and fewer trades can use it. Composite ovens, machining centres, dynamometers, fabrication benches and inspection kit suit other teams and engineering shops, some on the same estate and others across the motorsport belt, and the sale is online and open to the whole of the UK. We describe every lot as if the bidder will never see it, with plates, hours and tooling lists in the photographs.
Smaller units at Bletchley are older and tighter, with vehicle repairers and trade counters that close with lifts in the floor and stock on the shelves. A four post lift is a lot, but it is also a removal job, and the lot description says who pays.
The grid roads keep the run in from junction 13 or 14 short. Whether a heavy lot can leave on the first collection day depends on the gate, the turning space and what the lift needs, and we set that out in the catalogue.
What these sales can include
- Production machinery
- Finished goods and raw materials
- Warehouse racking
- Forklifts and handling equipment
- Vans, trucks and trailers
- Office furniture and computers
- Workshop tools and benches
- Compressors and site services
- Catering equipment
- Retail fittings and display units
- Vehicle lifts
- Packaging machinery
How we run the sale
We visit, agree the scope and catalogue the lots on site. Everything from the main machines down to the contents of the stores can be included. Small items are grouped into sensible lots so that nothing is left behind.
The sale runs online as a timed auction. Bidders register, view the lots on a set viewing day at your premises, and bid until the closing time. Lots close in sequence, and a late bid extends the closing time on that lot.
Buyers pay the hammer price plus the buyer's premium, with VAT charged where it applies and shown separately on the invoice. They pay us, and you are paid once the sale is reconciled and the collection window has closed, from cleared funds. The auction terms set out what happens if a buyer does not pay or collect. The details for your sale are explained when we discuss it.
The business closure auctions page covers closure sales and the pressure of the date, who needs to agree before you sell, stock, records and the things people forget, collection, clearance and the empty building, when a closure sale is not the answer.
Questions about selling in Milton Keynes
- We have a warehouse full of stock that belongs to the retailer we distributed for. What happens to it?
It goes back to the retailer, not into the sale. Customer owned stock is held under your contract with them, and selling it would be a breach. Contact them as soon as the closure date is fixed and agree a collection date that falls before our viewing day. Only stock you bought and own outright is lotted. We ask about ownership during our first visit and will want to see the paperwork for anything in doubt.
- Our dynamometer is bolted into a purpose built cell. Can it be sold, and who takes it out?
It can be sold, and it usually goes to another engineering firm or a dealer who will send their own crew. Removal is at the buyer's cost and the lot description says so. Your job is to have the services isolated by a qualified engineer and to keep the building open long enough for the crew to work. If the cell itself, the walls and the ventilation are landlord fixtures, they stay, and only the dyno and its control kit are sold.
More questions about closure auctions
Related services
Guides
- Closing a business: a timeline for selling the assets
Work backwards from the day you hand the site over. This guide covers lease end and dilapidations, when to instruct, when staff should leave, when to keep the power on, and how to leave enough room for collection and making good.