Britannia AuctionsComplete site dispersal auctions in Doncaster
Rail engineering leaves a particular kind of site. Wheel lathes, bogie drop tables, lifting jacks rated for a carriage, heavy overhead cranes and pits the length of a workshop are all common in Doncaster and rare almost everywhere else. Selling that plant well means finding the small number of buyers who want it and describing it in enough detail for them to bid from a distance. The rest of the site, the machine tools, the welding bays, the compressors and the stores, has a wider audience.
Fabrication shops on Kirk Sandall and Wheatley Hall Road, glass production plant, agricultural machinery dealers and plant hire yards on the edge of the borough all bring their own mix. Whatever the site, we catalogue it as one, sell it in one online timed auction with a viewing day, and manage every buyer through an agreed collection window until the building is empty.
Rail plant has a narrow audience
The audience for a wheel lathe or a bogie drop is narrow. Maintenance depots, rolling stock lessors, refurbishers and specialist dealers, at home and overseas, are the firms that use them. Bidding is online, and detail is what they have to work from. We record the make, the capacity, the service history and the way the machine is fixed to the floor, and we photograph the pits and rails that go with it. A lot like that can take a crane and a road closure to remove, and the buyer prices that in.
The wider trade takes everything else. The fabrication trade in Rotherham, Barnsley, Sheffield and Worksop is close enough to attend a viewing day for press brakes, rolls, welding plant and section saws. Plant hire yards and agricultural dealers bring buyers for excavators, telehandlers, trailers and tractors, and those lots leave under their own power or on a low loader from the gate. Racking and handling kit from the logistics sites is lotted for operators along the M18.
Old estates and new ones need different vehicles
The newer sites at iPort and West Moor Park were built for constant lorry traffic, and a collection there is a matter of booking slots and keeping the yard moving. The older estates at Kirk Sandall and Balby Carr vary from unit to unit, so the doors, yards and floor levels are measured rather than assumed, and a machine that was craned in through the roof may have to leave the same way. We walk each site with the heavy lots in mind and put the route out in the lot notes.
From any of them the motorways are close. The A1(M) and M18 both run through the borough, with the M180 beside them, and the M1 and M62 are a short run beyond, so a loaded wagon reaches the motorway without a run through the town. The order of the window is agreed for the site, and it usually puts the heavy lots early, the van lots after, and the overhead crane at the end.
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 Doncaster
- Our workshop has inspection pits and rail track set into the floor. Do they sell, and who fills them in?
Track and pit equipment can sell, usually to the same buyers as the rail plant, and we list them as separate lots. Filling the pits and making the floor good is normally a matter between you and the landlord, not the auction. We flag every pit in the catalogue so buyers know what they are lifting over, arrange for pits to be fenced or plated during collection, and suggest the fill is planned as the last job after the final machine has gone.
- The plant hire yard has machines that are out on hire until the month end. Can the sale still go ahead?
Yes. We catalogue what is on the yard and list the machines out on hire with a return date, so buyers know when they can be viewed and collected. Bidding usually runs two weeks and the collection window follows, so a machine back by the month end fits a sale that closes shortly after. Anything on finance, hire purchase or lease belongs to the funder until it is settled and can only be sold with their agreement, so that is the first thing we check with you.
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.