Britannia AuctionsComplete site dispersal auctions in Manchester
Manchester's factories sit on the edge of the city, on estates laid out at different times. A food processing unit on Trafford Park, a packaging plant in Sharston or a recycling operation in Agecroft each has its own yard, doors and floor levels, and those are what we measure before anything heavy is listed.
We sell the whole site in one online timed auction. That means the process line and its conveyors, the compressors and chillers in the plant room, the racking in the warehouse, the forklifts in the yard and the desks in the office. What is left for a skip company at the end should be very little.
The site is catalogued where it stands, viewed on one day, and cleared over an agreed collection window after the close.
Process plant, packaging lines and the rest
Food and drink sites are the dispersals we see most often around Manchester. They come with a particular set of assets. Stainless steel process vessels, mixers, depositors and fillers. Conveyor runs and packing machinery. Blast chillers and cold rooms. Metal detectors and checkweighers on the packing line. A working filler or a case packer is expensive new, and where a machine can be run without risk it stays connected for the viewing day so your staff can demonstrate it.
Packaging and chemical plants add extruders, printing presses, blending vessels and bunded storage. Engineering works add the usual machine tools and cranes.
We sell the production kit as single lots and group the small stuff. Spares for a specific line are lotted with the line where we can, because the buyer of the machine is the buyer of the spares. What is left over, the stores racking, the office IT and the canteen, goes in runs of lots at the end of the catalogue.
Clearing a site inside the M60
Trafford Park, Sharston and the estates out towards Heywood and Rochdale sit close to junctions 9 to 11 of the M60, which reach the rest of the north west network. What any one unit takes, the yard, the turning space, the door openings and the floor, is measured on our first visit and written into the catalogue.
The older sites in Openshaw and Newton Heath need more thought, and where the yard is small the crane lift is booked first and the van buyers come in around it, by agreement with you.
The trade in Salford, Stockport, Bolton, Oldham, Bury, Wigan and Warrington is close enough to inspect the lots before the sale closes, and the sale is online and open to the rest of the country. On a distribution site the racking can be one of the largest lines in the catalogue, and its buyers bring their own crews to strip and load it, so that is booked as a separate phase.
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 Manchester
- The landlord wants the Trafford Park unit back on a fixed date. How much time do you need?
Four to six weeks is the usual run from instruction to an empty building, depending on how many lots there are and the access. If the date is closer than that, we can compress the bidding to a week and run collection hard, but we would rather tell you what can and cannot be done once we have seen the site. A large food plant with fixed process lines needs the full time, because riggers and disconnections cannot be rushed safely.
- We have a large amount of racking in the warehouse. Is that sold with the rest of the site?
Yes, and it is worth cataloguing properly. Pallet racking sells by the bay or by the run to buyers who dismantle and remove it themselves. We measure it, note the make and the beam sizes, and photograph it standing. Collection is scheduled after the loose lots have gone, so the racking crew has a clear floor. The warehouse mezzanine, if there is one, is treated the same way.
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.