Britannia AuctionsBusiness relocation and downsizing sales in Northampton
Warehouse leases on Brackmills and Swan Valley are written for national operators, and they tend to end with a dilapidations schedule and a fixed date. A haulier or a pallet network moving to a bigger shed at the next junction wants the old one empty and stripped of racking before that date, and it does not want to pay to move racking that was bought to fit the old bay spacing.
We sell the racking, the mezzanine, the forklift fleet and the office floors by online timed auction from the shed, and we manage the dismantling window after it closes. The town's smaller trades, footwear makers, print shops, food processors and motorsport machinists on Moulton Park and Round Spinney, come with a very different list and use the same service. Either way, one person handles it from the first call to the last collection.
Stripping a big shed without breaking the lease
Racking is sold to be dismantled by the buyer, and the crew, the access equipment and the time it takes depend on the size of the shed and on the system in it. We agree the dismantling window with you and with the landlord's agent where the lease requires it, and we put the window in the catalogue so buyers price the work in. Frames and beams sell by the bay, sprinkler drops and lighting stay unless the lease says otherwise, and we say which is which in the listing.
Forklifts, reach trucks, pallet trucks and chargers come out first so the racking crew has the floor. Conveyor and sortation lines go as lots to other parcel operators, who are the natural buyers and are often on the same estate. Batteries are lotted with the trucks they fit.
The M1 junctions at 15 and 15a put Brackmills and Swan Valley within a day's round trip of most of the Midlands.
Small machines from the town's older trades
Footwear factories that downsize sell clicking presses, skiving machines, lasting equipment and sole presses. Equipment of that kind suits a narrow trade, at home and abroad, which is why the online catalogue does more of the work than the viewing day. Print firms on Moulton Park bring guillotines, folders, small presses and plate setters. Motorsport suppliers bring CNC mills, welding bays, fabrication benches and inspection kit, which suit precision shops here and along the Silverstone road.
These sales are smaller in tonnage and larger in lot count. We photograph every machine and group hand tools into sensible lots, so anyone coming from Wellingborough, Kettering, Daventry or Rugby can find what they are looking for on viewing day.
Our advice for a workshop move is to sell the older duplicate machines and keep the newest of each type. Condition counts for as much as age in a description, so a machine that has been looked after is worth photographing properly.
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 Northampton
- Our racking is on a hire agreement. Can we still sell it?
Not without the hire company's consent. Racking and mezzanines on lease or hire belong to the finance house until the agreement is settled, and the same applies to forklifts on contract hire. We ask about finance on our first visit and we will not list an item until the lender has agreed the sale or the settlement figure is known. Where the settlement is close to the likely sale price it is sometimes cheaper to hand the kit back than to sell it, and we will say so.
- The buyers want to collect while our new shed is not open yet. Can you hold the lots?
Yes, in two ways. We can set the collection window for after your move so the old shed empties in one go, as long as the lease date allows. Or we collect the sale lots ourselves and sell them from our own premises, which takes viewing and collection off your site altogether. The second route suits pallet trucks, office furniture and IT. Racking and mezzanines are best sold in place, because the buyer's dismantling crew is part of the deal.
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.