Britannia AuctionsBusiness closure auctions in Preston
Machining shops in Preston tend to grow around one customer. A composites firm or a tooling subcontractor takes on a long aerospace order, buys the machines to meet it, fills a unit at Red Scar or Roman Way, and when the programme ends there is no second customer to fill the floor. The lease outlasts the work. What is left is a room of capable machines, tooling in every drawer and a landlord who wants the unit back.
We sell it as one online timed auction, catalogued where it stands, with a viewing day for the trade and a fixed collection window afterwards. Bids are placed online and the sale is open to bidders anywhere in the UK. The engineering shops at Chorley, Leyland, Blackburn and Lancaster are within a comfortable drive of the viewing day, and composites and inspection kit suit a smaller set of trades that bid without visiting.
Send us the machine list and the date the unit has to be empty.
Machines bought for one aerospace order
Machining centres, five axis mills, grinders and CMMs bought for an aerospace contract usually come with maintenance records and certification, and that record is part of what a bidder is judging. We photograph the control, the hours and the service records, and we list the tooling and workholding with the machine when it makes the machine easier to sell. Where the tooling is worth more on its own, we lot it separately for the trade.
Composites kit is different. Autoclaves, ovens, clean rooms, freezers for prepreg and ply cutters have a narrow market and a slow removal. Bidding is open to buyers from any part of the country and the buyer arranges a specialist mover, so those lots usually need a longer slot in the collection window.
One point that catches people out. Material and tooling supplied free issue by the aerospace customer are not yours, however long they have sat in the stores. Return them before the viewing day.
Motorway links and the checks that set the collection days
Preston sits where the M6 meets both the M55 and the M65, which keeps the run in short. A low loader from a dealer in Lancashire or the north Midlands reaches Red Scar within an hour of leaving the motorway, and the Blackpool and Kirkham trade is near enough to come and see the lots. Transport cost and removal difficulty are two of the things that decide what a heavy machine brings.
The estates vary. Red Scar and Walton Summit were laid out with level yards, roller doors and room to turn a rigid lorry. Roman Way and the older units at Riversway often have shared yards and doors that a tall machine may not clear on a low loader.
We check all of that when we first visit, put the door heights and the yard access in the catalogue and agree the collection order with you. Machines that can safely be run stay connected for the viewing day, and every lot is isolated by a competent person before it is collected.
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 Preston
- Our machines are under a maintenance contract with the supplier. Does that add to their value?
It is one of the first things we ask about. A machine with a service history from the supplier, current calibration and a known controller software version is easier for a buyer to price, and how a lot is described is one of the things that decides the interest in it. Get the last service reports and any software licences together before the viewing day. If the contract can be transferred to the buyer, say so in the lot. Cancel it only after collection.
- The unit has a mezzanine full of stores and small tooling. Is it worth cataloguing all of that?
Yes. Small tooling, inserts, holders, gauges and consumables are easy to overlook and worth cataloguing, because the quantity is usually larger than it looks. We lot by drawer, by shelf or by cabinet so that a buyer can take a set. It also empties the mezzanine, which the landlord will inspect. What is not worth lotting we tell you about, and you can clear it while the sale runs.
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.