Britannia AuctionsComplete site dispersal auctions in Derby
Derby's supply chain is the reason its site dispersals look the way they do. A machining or fabrication firm that has spent years supplying the aerospace, rail and automotive plants closes its doors, and the building on Ascot Drive, Raynesway or Sinfin holds equipment bought to meet those customers' standards. Five axis machining centres and modern CNC lathes. Coordinate measuring machines and a temperature controlled inspection room. Welding cells, a paint booth and an overhead crane.
Plant kept to those standards is worth cataloguing in detail, with the service records, the calibration dates and the tooling that go with each machine.
We sell the whole site in one online timed auction. The production floor, the inspection room, the stores, the offices and the vehicles all go in one catalogue, and we manage the collection until the building is empty.
Precision plant deserves a precise catalogue
A CNC machining centre with a fourth axis, a probing system and a full set of tool holders is not the same lot as the bare machine, and the bids show it. So on a Derby engineering site we spend time on the catalogue. Each machine is listed with its control, its year where known, its options and the tooling that goes with it. Inspection equipment is photographed with its calibration labels. Fixtures and tooling built for a specific customer's parts are separated from general tooling, because the first has a narrow audience and the second is worth lotting for a wider one.
Bidding for this level of plant is online and not limited to the area and further afield. Anyone bidding from a distance has only the listing to work from, so the listing has to carry the detail.
The overhead crane, the compressor house and the extraction are usually agreed as the last lots to leave, so that those services stay available while the big machines come out.
Getting out of the southern estates and onto the A50
Osmaston Park, Sinfin and the newer units near Infinity Park sit close to the A50, the A38 and the A52, which reach the motorway network without a run through the city. What a particular door and yard will take is a question for the first visit, so we measure the access, the turning space and the floor levels before anything heavy is listed. Rigging cost is priced into a bid, which is why buyers are told what the route out is.
The removal plan still comes first. Machine tools are disconnected by qualified people, and the buyer arranges and pays for the lift and the transport, working to a method statement agreed before the day. The sequence is agreed with you, and it usually puts the heaviest lots early and the van lots later.
The trade in Nottingham, Burton upon Trent, Belper, Ilkeston, Long Eaton and Chesterfield is within easy reach of a viewing day, and much of the East Midlands engineering base is within an hour. Bidding itself is online and open to the whole of the UK.
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 Derby
- We hold customer owned tooling and fixtures on site. What happens to those?
They are not yours to sell, so we separate them at the start. You tell us which fixtures, gauges and tooling belong to customers, we tag them and set them aside, and you arrange their return. The catalogue only lists what you own. It is worth doing this before we start rather than during, because a customer's fixture found in a lot after the viewing is a dispute nobody wants. Everything else on the site is fair game.
- The CMM is in a temperature controlled room. Can it be sold and moved safely?
Yes. Coordinate measuring machines are moved by specialists as a matter of course. We list the make, model, measuring volume and software, and note that removal must be by a specialist. The buyer arranges a crew that decouples the machine, packs it and moves it with air ride transport. The inspection room fittings, the air conditioning and the granite tables are sold separately, and the room is often agreed as one of the last parts of the site to be cleared.
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.