Britannia AuctionsComplete site dispersal auctions in Cardiff
A site on Wentloog or at Tremorfa is rarely a single trade. A fabrication shop has a yard with a fleet of vans and a couple of tippers. A builders merchant has a warehouse, a forklift, a trade counter and a lorry with a crane. A food producer has a production hall, a chilled store and a distribution depot bolted on. When the business closes, the sale has to cover all of it.
That is what a site dispersal does. We catalogue every item on the premises, the plant, the vehicles, the stock and the offices, and sell it in one online timed auction with a viewing day at the site. Buyers pay us and collect in an agreed window, and we settle with you once the sale is reconciled and the funds have cleared.
What the removal takes is settled when we first visit, and it is the first thing we look at.
Fabrication plant, vans and stock sold from one catalogue
Lotting is what makes a mixed site work. Fabrication machinery, press brakes, guillotines, rolls, welding sets and the overhead crane, is lotted singly, and the metal trade in Newport, Bridgend, Caerphilly and the valleys is a short trip from the viewing day. Vehicles are listed with mileage, MOT dates, service history and V5 status, which is what the motor trade and other fleet operators ask for. Stock is lotted by the pallet or the shelf so a merchant or a contractor can bid for what they want without taking the lot.
The order of collection matters on a mixed site, and we agree it with you rather than apply a standard one. Vehicles often go early because they need no lifting and free up the yard, stock and racking follow by van, and the heaviest plant is booked for when the floor is clear and the buyer's rigger has room to work.
Food units on the Bay side add stainless steel, refrigeration, conveyors and packing lines, and the cold store is decommissioned by a qualified engineer before any of it moves.
Studios and offices need lotting of their own
Cardiff has a run of media and creative businesses in the Bay and the centre, and when one closes the site holds equipment that most auctioneers would not know how to describe. Cameras, lenses, lighting, grip, edit suites, sound desks and a lot of computing. Bidding on this kit is online and open to bidders well beyond the area and abroad, and it needs proper descriptions with model numbers, serials, hours and condition notes.
We lot it by function rather than by room. Camera bodies and lenses separately, lighting by type, sound kit by the case, edit workstations with their monitors. Office furniture and IT from the same site go in as ordinary lots.
Access is checked here the same way as anywhere. A studio building in the centre may have limited parking and no loading bay, so we measure what a vehicle can reach, book collection in slots and say in the catalogue what size of vehicle the site takes.
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 Cardiff
- Some of our vans are on finance and the merchant stock is on supplier credit. How does that affect the sale?
A vehicle on finance, hire purchase or lease stays with the funder until the agreement is settled, so it can only be sold with their agreement, and where they agree the settlement figure is usually paid from the proceeds. We check each vehicle before cataloguing. Stock bought on credit may be covered by retention of title clauses, so we ask for the supplier terms and set aside anything that is disputed, and the rest of the sale goes ahead cleanly.
- We are in administration and the administrator wants a quick sale. How fast can a site on Wentloog be cleared?
Four weeks can work for a site that is ready, depending on the number of lots, the access and how quickly buyers pay. We look at the yard, the doors and the route out at the first visit, and plan the heavy lots around what we find. We catalogue in the first week, run the auction over about two weeks and clear the site in the window after. We report to the administrator at each stage and account once the sale is reconciled, from cleared funds.
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.