Britannia AuctionsComplete site dispersal auctions in Bradford
Half the challenge of a Bradford site dispersal is the building. A worsted spinner or a dyer in a stone mill has its machines on the second floor, a yard that may not turn a low loader, and a loading door sized for a horse and cart. The plant inside is saleable and the bidding is open well beyond the district, but the route out shapes what buyers will pay.
The other half is the mix. The district also has bakeries and sauce factories, print and packaging works, chemical plants and engineering shops on Euroway or along Bowling Back Lane, and those sites clear in a very different way.
We catalogue whatever is on the premises, sell it in one online timed auction and manage the collection, from the first walk round to the last van out. Tell us the date the building has to be empty and we will propose a timetable that works back from it.
Mill floors and steep yards decide how the plant leaves
Before we list a machine in a mill we work out how it will come out. What a spinning frame or a finishing range on an upper floor needs depends on its weight and dimensions, the route out and the building, and it may mean breaking the machine into sections, a crane lift through a taking in door or a move to a lift rated for the load. Around the Canal Road corridor and Shipley the yards and approaches vary, so we measure the turning space, the door openings and the floor levels rather than assume a low loader will fit.
The lot notes say all of this so buyers price the removal in. We agree the collection order with you for the site, and where a crane needs room to stand that usually decides when the heaviest lots are booked.
Bidding on textile machinery is online and open to buyers across the UK and overseas, and we photograph and describe with that in mind.
Food, print and engineering units are a quicker clear
A bakery or a sauce plant at Dudley Hill or on Euroway is a different job. Ovens, mixers, depositors, stainless tables and cold rooms are lotted for the food trade across Yorkshire and beyond, and most of it is sized for a tail lift van or a curtain sider. Refrigeration is decommissioned by a qualified engineer, which can be arranged before collection starts.
Print works bring presses, guillotines, folders and finishing kit. The large presses are a rigging job, the rest is not. Engineering shops on the M606 side are checked the same way, door widths, yard space and floor levels, before anything heavy is listed.
The trade in Leeds, Halifax, Huddersfield, Keighley and Dewsbury is near enough to view in person, and the sale is online and open to bidders anywhere in the UK. Racking, benches, lockers and office furniture are usually booked for the end of the window, once the plant is out.
What these sales can include
- Complete production lines
- CNC lathes and machining centres
- Presses, guillotines and folders
- Overhead cranes and hoists
- Compressors and air receivers
- Forklift trucks
- Racking and storage systems
- Tooling, spares and consumables
- Inspection and test equipment
- Welding and fabrication equipment
- Office furniture and IT equipment
- Canteen and welfare equipment
- Vehicles and trailers
The auction
The sale runs as an online timed auction, open for bidding for a fixed period with a viewing day at the site before the close. Lots close in sequence, and a late bid extends the closing time for that lot so nobody is beaten by the clock. Bidders register online, and the sale is advertised to the trade for that type of equipment.
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 on the invoice. Once paid, the buyer collects within the agreed window. Our staff are on site throughout collection to check off each lot and control access.
For very large sites the sale may be split into two or more auctions, so the building empties in stages and production can continue in one area while another is cleared.
The complete site dispersal auctions page covers what a site dispersal involves, preparing the site, removal and heavy lifting, timescales and what to expect.
Questions about selling in Bradford
- The mill is listed and the landlord is nervous about damage during removal. How do you handle that?
We agree the removal method with the landlord before the auction, not after. Every heavy lift is arranged and paid for by the buyer, working to a method statement agreed before the day, and we put the landlord's conditions about floors, doors, walls and access in the lot notes so buyers know them before bidding. A site visit with the landlord's surveyor at the start avoids arguments at the end, and we are happy to attend it.
- We still have wool and cloth in stock. Does that go in the same sale as the machines?
It can, and usually should. Raw wool, tops, yarn and finished cloth sell in the same auction to a different set of buyers, lotted by the bale or the roll with weights and fibre types listed. Keeping it in one sale means one viewing day and one account at the end. If the stock is large or specialist, we can run it as a separate sale, and we will give you a view on which route suits the stock before you decide.
More questions about site dispersals
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.
- 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.
- What insolvency practitioners need from an auctioneer
For office holders realising physical assets. Covers the instruction letter, the asset schedule and valuation basis, retention of title, finance checks, site security, health and safety during the sale, and the reconciliation you need for the file.