Britannia AuctionsBusiness retirement auctions in Aberdeen
Oil and gas work built a layer of small firms around Aberdeen. Fabricators at Altens and Tullos, inspection and testing specialists, container and lifting gear suppliers at Dyce, machine shops that turned parts for subsea equipment. If you are retiring and selling the equipment rather than transferring the business, an auction is one way to reach the buyers for it.
We sell the contents by auction. Welding plant, machine tools, test rigs, calibrated inspection equipment, offshore containers, lifting gear, vans and the office all go into one online sale with a viewing day at the premises. Buyers pay us and collect in a fixed window. We account to you after collection and cleared funds.
The kit here is often specialist, and that shapes how we sell it. Tell us what you have through the contact form.
Inspection kit and fabrication plant from the oil years
Offshore supply work demanded equipment that was certified, calibrated, inspected and looked after. That is what makes an Aberdeen retirement sale different. NDT equipment, pressure test rigs, torque tools, load cells, ultrasonic thickness gauges, welding sets used on coded work, positioners, plate rolls and a CNC lathe or two. Offshore containers, baskets and lifting gear with certificates. A yard with hard standing and an overhead crane.
Some of this has a wide market and some a narrow one. Welding plant, machine tools and vans suit any general workshop, and the trade in Westhill, Inverurie, Kintore and Portlethen is near enough to come and see the lots. Specialist inspection and test equipment has a smaller circle of buyers, wherever they happen to be. Bids are placed online and the sale is open to the whole of the UK, so the catalogue has to carry model numbers, ranges, calibration dates and photographs of the certificates.
Where one item is worth a great deal, private treaty is often the better route.
Buyers beyond the north east
Because the market for offshore equipment is spread across the UK and abroad, we plan the sale around distance. Descriptions are detailed enough to bid on without a visit. Bidding and payment are online. Viewing is on one fixed day for the buyers who do travel. Collection allows time for hauliers from the south and for containers to be lifted onto a lorry by the buyer's contractor.
On the first visit we check the vehicle access and turning space, the loading arrangements, the door dimensions, the floor levels and what lifting the site has. The A90 and the peripheral route are the usual approach for a low loader at Altens, Tullos and Dyce. Containers and heavy plant need a crane or a heavy forklift, so the catalogue records what the yard offers and what the buyer's haulier has to bring.
The landlord's date is usually the fixed point. Where a lease ends on a set day, that gives us a timetable to work back from, and the cataloguing, bidding and collection dates are set within it.
What these sales can include
- Workshop machinery
- Hand and power tools
- Vans and company vehicles
- Trade stock and consumables
- Racking and storage
- Forklifts and pallet trucks
- Office furniture and IT
- Welding and fabrication equipment
- Compressors and generators
- Vehicle lifts and garage equipment
- Catering and canteen equipment
- Signage and shop fittings
How the sale runs
It starts with a conversation. We ask what you have, where it is, and when you need it gone. Then we visit, walk the premises with you and agree which items are included.
We catalogue the lots on site. Each lot gets a description, photographs and, where relevant, a serial number and condition note. The catalogue goes online and the auction is marketed to buyers in the trade.
Most sales run as online timed auctions. Bidding is open for a set period, usually a week or two, with a viewing day at your premises before it closes. Buyers pay us, then collect their lots during the collection window. We account to you once the sale is reconciled, buyers have paid and the collection window has closed, from cleared funds.
The business retirement auctions page covers when an auction is the right route, what you need to prepare, values, reserves and what the buyer pays, collection day and unsold lots, other routes and when we suggest them.
Questions about selling in Aberdeen
- Our equipment was bought for offshore work and most of it is overspecified for a normal workshop. Will it sell?
It depends on the item, because the market is not the same width for every lot. A welding set or a plate roll suits any general fabricator. A pressure test rig or a set of calibrated torque tools interests inspection firms and engineering companies serving other sectors, and the sale is online and open to the rest of the country. We describe each lot with model, range, calibration date and certificate, and we photograph the paperwork, because that is what a buyer of specialist equipment needs before they bid.
- We have containers and baskets rented out to customers. How do we handle those?
Get them back first. Rental containers, baskets, skids and lifting frames are catalogued once they are in your yard, with their certificates, and they are offered to other suppliers and to contractors who want certified units. If a customer wants to keep one, sell it to them before the auction. Anything you do not own, or that is on finance, cannot be sold without the owner's or the funder's agreement, so tell us about the rental fleet on the first call.
More questions about retirement auctions
Related services
Guides
- Auction or private treaty: which route to choose
Auction gives you a fixed date and an open market. Private treaty gives you a negotiated price and privacy. This guide sets out when each route suits, what you give up with each, and why many sales use both.