Britannia AuctionsBusiness relocation and downsizing sales in Peterborough
A printing firm on Fengate consolidates two presses into one. A food packer at Orton Southgate takes a smaller unit because the contract that filled the big one has gone. An agricultural machinery dealer thins its workshop. An engineering works moves out to the Gateway at Alwalton for the motorway access and finds half its old machines do not earn their place on the new floor. The reasons differ, the job is the same. Sell what is not moving, before the old lease ends, without stopping production.
We run that sale as an online timed auction. Our team catalogues on Fengate or in Woodston while the shop is still working, tags the sale lots, and sets the auction to close before your move out date. Buyers view once, pay us and collect in a fixed window. If the timing is awkward we collect the lots ourselves and sell them from our own premises instead.
Presses and packaging lines that will not fit the new floor
Print and packaging kit is heavy and awkward, and most of it is bolted through. A sheet fed press, a folder gluer, a form fill seal line or a flow wrapper needs specialist handling to dismantle and a full trailer to move, and that cost, paid twice, is what you weigh against what the machine is likely to make. We photograph these machines running where possible, note the impressions or hours, and list the ancillaries with them, because a press catalogued without its plate setter and stacker tells a bidder less.
Food processing lines add stainless tables, conveyors, mixers, metal detectors and chillers, which suit the food trade in Spalding, Wisbech, March and beyond. Engineering works bring machine tools, air compressors, welding sets and extraction. Those are catalogued for a national audience, and the trade in Stamford, Huntingdon, Oundle and Corby is close enough for the viewing day.
Collection days on Fengate and the southern estates
Fengate has the widest range of units in the city, from a lockup with a roller door to a depot with a dozen loading bays, so collection is planned to suit the unit. On the small workshops we give buyers a two day window and ask for one vehicle at a time. On the larger sheds we run a normal collection with a forklift on site. The A1139 parkway links Fengate to Orton Southgate and Woodston, so a buyer clearing lots from two of your units in one day is a realistic plan.
The Gateway sheds at Alwalton sit beside the A1(M). Older units in Woodston have shared yards, and every site is looked at before anything is promised to a buyer about a crane or a large vehicle.
The last month at the old premises is usually the right window. We catalogue while you still produce, close the auction ahead of the handover and collect after it, with the gap depending on the number of lots and on the removal each one needs. The landlord gets an empty floor.
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 Peterborough
- The move is timed for the quiet weeks after harvest. Can the sale be done in a fortnight?
A fortnight is tight but workable if the list is ready. We would catalogue in the first few days and run the auction for a week, with collection in the last days before handover. A short run gives the catalogue less time to circulate, so the reserves need to be realistic. A better plan, if the lease allows, is to catalogue a month out and let the auction run its full course while you are still trading. Tell us the dates and we will say what fits.
- We have a large press that is worth more than everything else. Is auction still right for it?
Possibly not. A single large press or a big CNC centre suits a small number of firms. Private treaty, where we approach them and negotiate a sale, can suit the one big lot better while the auction clears the rest. We can also put it in the auction with a firm reserve and treat private treaty as the fallback. Our estimate at the site visit will tell you which route we favour.
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.