Britannia AuctionsCatering and hospitality equipment auctions in Preston
The catering kit that comes to market around Preston falls into two piles. One is the works canteen: the aerospace supply chain at Samlesbury and the sheds at Walton Summit and Red Scar feed shifts on site, and when a contract moves or a unit closes, a fitted kitchen with a servery line is left behind. The other is the ordinary run of pubs, cafes, restaurants and takeaways in the city and the market towns around it, which change hands every year.
We sell both by online timed auction, usually from the premises. A canteen on an estate is a loading bay job. A pub kitchen on a terraced street is a side door and a van. We look at the building before we say anything about price.
Bidding is online and open to bidders well beyond the area, and Chorley, Leyland, Blackburn, Lancaster and the coast at Blackpool and Southport are all close enough to inspect the lots before the sale closes.
Servery lines from the aerospace supply chain
A works canteen is a different sale from a restaurant. The cooking line is often bigger than the covers would suggest, because it feeds a shift in forty minutes, and the servery is the valuable part: heated and chilled counters, a tray slide, bain maries and a hot cupboard. The machining and composites firms around Samlesbury, and the distribution units at Walton Summit, run kitchens like this, and the caterer or the tenant owns the kit depending on the contract. We ask to see the catering agreement before we catalogue, because a servery counter the caterer paid for is not the tenant's to sell.
Collection on these estates is usually straightforward. Where there is a loading bay and a pallet truck, a buyer with a curtain sider can take a whole line in one visit, and we confirm the access before the catalogue goes out.
Selling in winter for the seaside spring
Timing is worth thinking about here because of the coast. Seaside operators refit between the end of the season and Easter, so a sale that closes in February comes before their season rather than after it.
A pub that closes in the autumn does not have to sell in the autumn. If the lease allows a few weeks, we would rather catalogue it in December and close the sale in the new year. Where the keys have to go back sooner, we collect the lots and sell them from our own premises, so the seller meets the date and the buyers still see the kit at the right time of year.
The smaller units at Riversway and the streets around the city centre are planned the ordinary way: a booked slot, handling to suit the route, and heavy items dismantled by the buyer's own crew.
What these sales can include
- Cooking ranges and ovens
- Combination ovens
- Fryers and griddles
- Cold rooms and walk in freezers
- Upright and under counter refrigeration
- Display and serve over counters
- Dishwashers and glasswashers
- Ice machines
- Espresso machines and grinders
- Stainless steel tables and sinks
- Extraction canopies
- Bar equipment and beer coolers
- Tables, chairs and banquette seating
- Tills and till systems
How the sale runs
We visit, agree what is in the sale and catalogue it. Each lot is photographed and described as it stands, with known faults noted. The sale is listed online and marketed to operators and dealers across the UK. Buyers view on a set day and bid online, with lots closing in sequence on the sale date.
Lots are offered as seen under the auction terms, and buyers are expected to inspect before bidding. The buyer pays the hammer price plus a buyer's premium, with VAT charged where it applies and shown separately. We take payment before anything is released.
Collection follows over a window agreed with you. Buyers arrange and pay for removal, and our staff attend so that services are dealt with correctly and the premises are left as agreed with the landlord.
The catering and hospitality equipment auctions page covers what a catering sale looks like, disconnecting services and extraction, what your lease allows you to sell, clean it, label it, leave it working.
Questions about selling in Preston
- The canteen was run by a contract caterer. Can we sell the equipment?
It depends on the contract. Many catering agreements say the caterer supplies the small equipment and the client owns the fixed kitchen, but some caterers install and own the servery and refrigeration too. Send us the agreement and any asset list attached to it. We catalogue what the tenant owns, and if the caterer wants to sell their kit at the same time, we can include it under a separate account so the proceeds are split correctly. Sorting this out before the listing goes up avoids a dispute on collection day.
- Our pub is in a village outside Preston. Do you still come out?
Yes. We sell anywhere in the UK, mainland or islands, so a village pub near Garstang or Kirkham is well within range. Access is the first thing we check. If the car park takes a van but not a lorry, we say so in the listing and group the heavy lots into one slot for a buyer with a crew. Where the site is awkward the lots can be moved to our own premises for sale. Either way our staff attend collection and let lots go only when they have been paid for, so you do not have to be there.
More questions about catering equipment