Britannia AuctionsComplete site dispersal auctions in Leeds
The typical Leeds dispersal we are asked to look at is a print or packaging works, a food production unit or a metal processing shop somewhere in the belt south and east of the centre. Hunslet, Stourton and Cross Green have plenty of buildings where a firm has run for decades and has now closed, merged or moved to a newer shed at Thorpe Park.
What is left is a full building. Presses and finishing equipment, or process lines and cold rooms, or shears and saws and a coil store. Behind that, racking, trade counter fittings, the forklift, the vans, the office furniture and the IT.
A site dispersal sells all of it in one online timed auction. We catalogue on site, hold a viewing day, run the bidding for a week or two and then manage collection until the building is empty and can be handed back.
Print works and food units need different handling
A print works dispersal has a particular shape. The presses are large, heavy and sensitive, and the buyers are specialist. Finishing equipment, folders, guillotines, laminators and stitchers have a broader audience and are lotted singly. Consumables, plates and paper stock are grouped. We photograph the presses in detail and note the impression counts and configuration, because anyone bidding from a distance has only the listing to work from.
A food unit is different again. Stainless steel benches, process vessels, ovens and packing lines are catalogued for a national trade, and the chilled storage and the packing machinery are catalogued as carefully as the fixed plant. Hygiene matters at the viewing, so we agree with you how the site is presented.
On both, the office contents, the canteen and the yard equipment go as runs of lots at the end of the catalogue so that van buyers can clear them in a day.
Working the collection window back from the lease date
Most of the southern estates are minutes from the M621, and from there the M1 and M62 take a loaded wagon anywhere. What a particular unit takes is measured when we first visit, how a vehicle gets in and turns, the loading facilities, the door dimensions and the floor levels, and it goes in the catalogue. The order of the window is then agreed with you, usually heavy lots first, racking crews next and van buyers after.
The trade in Bradford, Wakefield, Huddersfield, Halifax, Dewsbury and Castleford is well placed for the viewing day, and bidding is online and open across the country. A metal processing shop in Cross Green sits close to the fabricators who run the same plant.
Timing usually follows the lease. Where the keys go back on a quarter day, we would propose closing the auction about two weeks before it and running collection up to the last few days. How much margin that leaves depends on how many lots there are and the access, and we would rather leave more than less.
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 Leeds
- We are moving to Thorpe Park and only taking part of the plant. Can you sell the rest from the old site?
Yes. Tell us what is moving and we catalogue everything else. It helps if the items staying behind are left where they are and the items moving are marked or taken out before the viewing, so buyers see a clear picture. This is a common shape of sale in Leeds and it works well, because the old building is usually on a lease end and the auction gives you a hard date to work the move around.
- The vans and the forklift are on finance. Can they still go in the site sale?
They can, but only with the funder's agreement. An item on finance, hire purchase or lease belongs to the funder until it is settled, so we ask for the details at the start and go to them for a settlement figure and consent. Where they agree, the settlement is usually paid from the proceeds and the balance comes to you. It is worth raising early, because consent can take time and we do not want it holding up the close.
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.