Britannia AuctionsBusiness relocation and downsizing sales in Manchester
Most relocation sales we run around Manchester start with a shed. A logistics or wholesale operator on Trafford Park or along the M62 towards Rochdale takes a bigger or newer unit, and the racking and half the handling kit stay behind. Food and drink firms and packaging companies moving between estates leave process lines that would cost more to strip and rebuild than they would sell for.
Our job is to turn what is left into one online timed auction that closes before the keys go back. We catalogue in place while you are still trading, run viewing on one day, and manage collection in a fixed window afterwards.
Downsizing works the same way with a shorter keep list. The M60 puts the region's estates near enough to attend the viewing day, and bidding runs online and is open to bidders well beyond the area.
Leaving a big shed clean and on time
A shed handback usually comes with a dilapidations clause. Racking bolts have to come out of the slab, mezzanine floors have to be taken down and the floor made good. Selling the racking in place, with dismantling done by the buyer under our supervision, deals with most of that. We sell racking by run and by bay, so a small operator in Bury or Oldham can take a few bays while a larger one takes the lot.
Forklifts, reach trucks, pallet wrappers and conveyor sections are straightforward lots. We check the yard, the doors and the turning space before the collection plan is written, and slots are booked in advance so that vehicles do not queue. We give the landlord's agent a clearance date at the start and work back from it. If the new unit slips, the auction close can move back a week, as long as we know before the catalogue goes online.
Process lines from food and packaging moves
Food and drink manufacturers and packaging firms at Sharston and Openshaw move for the same reasons as everyone else, but their kit is harder to shift. A filling line or a case packer that was built into the old floor is a rigging and cleaning job before it is a saleable lot. We photograph it in place, note the last service and any CE or hygiene paperwork, and describe the disconnection needed so buyers can price it.
Access on the older east Manchester sites is checked before anything is listed. Where a large vehicle cannot reach the door, the catalogue says so and collection slots are set around it. Where the site cannot take viewers at all, the lots can be brought to our own premises and sold from there.
The food trade in Warrington, Bolton, Stockport and Wigan is an easy drive from a viewing day, and bidding is online and open further afield. Chemical and recycling plant from the same estates sells the same way.
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 Manchester
- We are moving from Trafford Park to a unit near Rochdale. Can the sale run while we still trade?
Yes, that is the normal way. We visit, tag the lots that are for sale and leave the rest alone. The catalogue goes online while you are still picking orders from the old shed. Bidding runs a week or two with one viewing day. Collection happens after your last trading day, in a window we agree with you and the landlord, so the lots are never in the way of the move.
- Our mezzanine is bolted to the slab. Who takes it down and makes good?
The buyer dismantles it, under our supervision and to a date we set. The making good of the slab is normally your responsibility under the lease, so we agree at the start whether the buyer fills the bolt holes or you do. A mezzanine catalogued in place can be measured and inspected by a bidder, which is harder to do with a stack of dismantled steel.
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.