Britannia AuctionsComplete site dispersal auctions in Hull
A lot of what we clear in Hull comes out of the caravan and holiday home trade. A chassis maker, a joinery shop or an upholstery firm on Sutton Fields or at Kingswood loses its main customer, or the owner calls it a day, and the site holds a full production set up. CNC routers, edgebanders, beam saws and dust extraction. Sewing lines and foam cutting. Welding jigs and a powder coating booth for chassis work. Racking full of stock that was bought for next season's build.
We list all of it and sell it in one online timed auction, then manage the buyers through an agreed collection window. The site is empty at the end and you get one account.
The trade runs to a seasonal calendar, which is worth weighing when the closing date is set.
Woodworking and upholstery plant sells to more than one trade
Joinery machinery does not care what it was making. A beam saw or an edgebander from a caravan furniture shop is the same machine to a kitchen maker in Goole or a shopfitter in Beverley, and the buyer looks at the hours and the control system. Sewing machines, foam cutters, staple guns and upholstery frames are catalogued for furniture makers and marine trimmers as well as caravan firms. Chassis welding jigs are harder, because they were built for one product, but the welding sets, jig tables and the powder coating plant around them have a wider audience.
The stock is worth a separate conversation. Boards, laminates, fabrics and fittings bought for a build that will not happen have a market in the same supply chain, and lotting them by the pallet keeps them within reach of a van buyer. We do not mix stock into machinery lots.
Food processing sites near the docks bring a different buyer again, mostly stainless steel, refrigeration, conveyors and packing lines.
Selling before the build season starts
Caravan production runs to a calendar. Dealers stock up for spring, the factories build through the winter, and the supply chain is at its busiest when the parks are quiet. If a supplier closes, the point in that calendar is one of the things worth weighing when the closing date is set, alongside the lease date and the number of lots. We will tell you what interest to expect before you commit, and because bidding is online a sale is never limited to the local trade.
Access is checked unit by unit. Sutton Fields, Priory Park and the Stoneferry side all vary, so we measure how a vehicle gets in and turns, the door openings and the floor levels before anything heavy is listed, and the A63 and the M62 are the route out.
The trade in Hessle, Cottingham, Hedon and Driffield, and over the Humber Bridge in Barton and North Lincolnshire, is within easy reach of a viewing day.
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 Hull
- We supply parts to the caravan makers and hold stock they have paid for. What do we do with it?
Anything the customer has paid for is theirs and goes back to them before we catalogue. We ask for the list at the first meeting and set those pallets aside. Stock you own and have not been paid for stays in the sale, and the same customers or their other suppliers often bid for it. Retention of title clauses from your own suppliers need checking too, and we can help you read them.
- Our factory is a former dock warehouse with a mezzanine floor. Can machinery on the upper floor be sold?
Yes, but the removal governs the price. A machine on a mezzanine needs either a goods lift that can take it or a crane lift through a loading door, and the buyer's rigger has to plan that before bidding. We say in the lot notes exactly how it came in and how it can leave. Where the lift is expensive relative to the machine, the bid reflects it, and we tell you that before the sale.
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.