Britannia AuctionsComplete site dispersal auctions in Northampton
Northampton's biggest sites are sheds. When a distributor at Brackmills or Swan Valley loses a contract or moves its operation to another depot, the site dispersal is racking measured in hundreds of bays, a fleet of reach trucks and counterbalance trucks, conveyors and sortation, dock levellers, offices for a hundred people and a canteen. It is not heavy in the way a press shop is heavy, but it is big, and getting it out on time takes planning.
The town also still makes shoes, and it prints, packs food, machines parts for the motorsport supply chain and repairs vehicles. Those sites are smaller and their machines are more specialised. We handle both kinds in the same way, with one catalogue of everything on the site, one online timed auction, an agreed collection window and one account to you at the end.
Racking comes down after the trucks have gone
The order of collection decides how well a warehouse dispersal goes. We agree it with you rather than apply a standard one. Handling equipment usually goes early. Forklifts, reach trucks, pallet trucks and order pickers drive onto a buyer's lorry or a low loader in the yard, and Wellingborough, Kettering, Daventry and Rugby are within a comfortable drive of the viewing day. Then the racking. Pallet racking is lotted by the run or by the bay for other operators and for racking dealers, and the buyer dismantles it with their own crew and a scissor lift, which goes quickly once the floor is clear. Conveyors and sortation are usually booked last, either as a system to one buyer or in sections.
Brackmills and Swan Valley were laid out for articulated traffic, and on our first visit we confirm what the yard, the docks and the turning space take, so buyers know before they bid. The M1 at junctions 15 and 15a is minutes away.
Shoe factories and print works carry specialist machines
A footwear factory is a different sale. Clicking presses, lasting machines, stitching machines, finishing lines and racks of lasts have a narrow audience, and the bidding is open to buyers in the county and abroad. We photograph each machine with its plate, list the size range where it matters, and put the sale in front of the specialist dealers who follow footwear plant, as well as running it online. The same goes for print and packaging plant on Moulton Park and Round Spinney, where a press is catalogued for printers across the country and the finishing kit goes with it.
Engineering and motorsport supply units on Lodge Farm hold CNC plant, inspection equipment, a tool room and a stores, and those lots sit within easy reach of machine shops in Towcester, Market Harborough, Bedford and Rugby, with the national trade bidding online. Older units near the town centre vary, and we check the route out before listing anything heavy.
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 Northampton
- The landlord wants the warehouse back with the racking gone and the floor made good. Does the auction cover that?
The auction gets the racking out. Buyers dismantle and remove it during the collection window, and we require them to leave the floor safe and clear of debris. Filling anchor bolt holes and repairing the slab to a dilapidations standard is normally between you and the landlord, and we can point you to contractors who do it. Building the sale into your dilapidations timetable, with a week spare after the last collection, is the approach we suggest.
- We have thousands of pairs of finished shoes and leather in stock. Is that part of the site sale?
It can be, and it usually should be. Finished stock, leather, components and packaging sell by the pallet or by the style to retailers, wholesalers, exporters and other makers, and the same auction that sells the machines can carry the stock as a separate section. Anything held on behalf of a customer, or covered by retention of title from your suppliers, is taken out before we list. We keep stock and machinery in separate lots so the bidders for each find what they want.
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.