Britannia AuctionsBusiness relocation and downsizing sales in Derby
Derby's supply chain moves when the big customers change what they order. A machining or fabrication firm that has picked up a new aerospace or rail contract takes a unit at Infinity Park or on Sinfin Commercial Park, fits it out with the machines the contract needs, and finds that the old centre lathes and the manual mills on Ascot Drive are surplus. A firm that has lost a contract downsizes and faces the same list from the other side.
We sell the equipment that does not make the move. CNC machine tools, presses, welding plant, compressors and inspection kit are catalogued in place, sold by online timed auction and collected in a fixed window once you are out.
We check at the site visit what vehicle can reach each machine and how it comes out, so a heavy item is catalogued as a saleable lot with its removal described rather than written off.
Machine tools that miss the cut for the new floor
The machines that go to the new unit are the ones that hold the tolerances the contract calls for. The rest are older, slower or too big for the new bay, and those are the lots we catalogue. What a manual machine makes depends on its condition, its accuracy and whether the type is still in daily use, and a shop that has looked after its kit has the records to show it.
Each machine is photographed running where possible, with the control, the table size and the tooling listed. Aerospace approvals do not transfer with a machine, but calibration records do, and they should go in the lot. Tooling is sorted by type and sold in trays. Inspection equipment goes in its own section because it suits a different bidder.
Fabrication plant from the rail and automotive supply chain, welding sets, plasma cutters, rollers and press brakes, suits engineering and fabrication shops, and the trade in Burton, Chesterfield, Nottingham and Ilkeston is close enough to view before bidding online.
Low loaders on the southern estates
Access decides how a large machine is collected, so we measure it before anything is listed: the route in, the turning space, the loading and the floor. The A38 and A50 give a clean run to the M1 and towards Stoke, and the catalogue says what each heavy lot needs. A bidder who can price the removal in advance is bidding on the machine rather than on the unknown.
Where the yard is shared or the space is tight, collection is planned around the working day and booked in slots. For a firm on a rent quarter day handback, we propose a timetable that works back from the date, with the length of each stage set by the lot count and the access. If the new unit is delayed, the sale can be pushed back, but the catalogue needs to be settled before it goes online. Office and IT lots from the same site go in the same sale.
What these sales can include
- CNC machine tools
- Presses and press brakes
- Racking and mezzanine floors
- Forklift trucks
- Air compressors
- Workshop tooling and hand tools
- Office furniture and desks
- IT equipment and servers
- Packing and labelling machines
- Welding equipment
- Extraction and dust collection systems
- Vans and light commercial vehicles
How the sale runs
We visit the site, list the lots and photograph them in place. You tell us which items are moving and which are for sale, and we tag the sale lots so there is no confusion on the shop floor.
The catalogue goes online as a timed auction. Bidding stays open for a set period, usually one to two weeks, and each lot closes at a fixed time with an extension if a bid arrives in the last minutes. We hold a viewing day at your premises, and lots are offered as seen under the auction terms, with buyers expected to inspect first.
After the sale we invoice the buyers and take payment. You are paid once the sale is reconciled and the collection window has closed, from cleared funds, less the agreed commission and any agreed costs. Buyers arrange and pay for removal, and our staff attend to release lots against paid invoices.
The business relocation and downsizing sales page covers when a relocation sale makes sense, timing the sale around the move, what to prepare, valuation and reserves, unsold lots and leftovers.
Questions about selling in Derby
- We have a five axis machine on finance. Can it go in the relocation sale?
Only with the lender's written consent, and that is worth asking for early. A machine on finance, hire purchase or lease stays with the funder until the agreement is settled, so it is not listed until they agree. We deal with the lender directly if you want us to. Where they agree, the settlement figure is usually paid from the proceeds, and the balance comes to you after the sale is reconciled from cleared funds, less the agreed commission and costs.
- Our move is fixed by a customer audit date. How far ahead should we call?
Six to eight weeks before the handback is comfortable. That leaves time for a site visit, cataloguing, a week or two of bidding and a collection window before the date, though the exact timetable depends on the number of lots and on how the heavy ones come out. A shorter run is possible. The trade off is that the catalogue has less time to circulate among the trade in Derby and the surrounding towns.
More questions about relocation sales
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.
- Selling a commercial vehicle fleet
Fleet sales turn on paperwork as much as on price. This guide covers the V5C, MOT and plating documents, clearing finance before listing, keys and livery, recording mileage and tachograph data, and how to defleet in batches while still trading.