Can a director instruct the sale after the appointment?

No. Once an administrator or liquidator is appointed, the office holder controls the assets and only they can instruct a sale. We will speak to a director who contacts us before an appointment, but where a formal process follows, the instruction comes from the office holder and the proceeds are paid to the estate.

How do you deal with retention of title claims?

Stock supplied under retention of title terms belongs to the supplier until it is paid for. We identify stock that may be subject to a claim, set it aside and report it to the office holder. It is not offered for sale until the claim has been dealt with. Where a supplier collects their goods, we record what left the site.

What checks do you make on vehicles and plant?

We ask about outstanding finance, theft markers and write off history on road registered vehicles, and about finance on plant, and we explain the checks we make when we discuss the instruction. Where finance is found, the item belongs to the funder until it is settled, and it is held until they confirm their position.

What reporting does the office holder receive?

An asset schedule and valuation at the start, a copy of the catalogue and advertising before the sale, and a reconciled sale account afterwards showing the hammer price for each lot, buyer's premium, VAT and our fees. Any unsold lots and their disposal are recorded. The file is kept for the office holder's records.

Can directors or employees bid in the sale?

Yes. The auction is open to the public, and a former director or employee can register and bid like anyone else. They pay the same buyer's premium and are subject to the same terms. Because the sale is open and advertised, a purchase by a connected party is on the record alongside every other bid.

What about assets held away from the premises?

Tell us where they are. Assets in storage, at a customer's site or in a vehicle parked at an employee's home are common. We can collect them for the sale, or list them for collection from where they stand if the occupier will allow access. Hired equipment belongs to the hire company and is returned to them.

Asset sales on the office holder's instruction

Stainless Steel Tank in an Industrial Plant

If you are an administrator or liquidator, you need the assets identified, valued, secured and sold in a way that stands up to creditor scrutiny. If you are a director, you may be reading this because a formal process has begun and you want to know what happens next.

We sell business assets on instruction from the office holder, or from a lender or landlord with the right to take possession. The route is usually an online timed auction. Use the contact form to describe the appointment and the assets, and we will come back with a plan.

What these sales can include

Machine tools and production lines
Finished stock and work in progress
Raw materials and components
Commercial vehicles and vans
Plant and site equipment
Forklift trucks and pallet trucks
Racking and warehouse fittings
Office furniture and IT equipment
Catering and bar equipment
Fixtures and fittings
Tooling, spares and consumables
Shop fittings and displays

Who instructs the sale

In a liquidation or administration the office holder controls the company's assets and instructs the sale. Directors cannot sell company assets once the appointment has been made, and we will not act on their instruction alone. Where a director contacts us before an appointment, we can talk through the position, and if a formal process follows, the office holder's team takes over from there.

Lenders with a fixed charge over equipment can instruct a sale of the assets they have taken possession of. So can a landlord who has taken control of goods for unpaid rent under commercial rent arrears recovery. In each case we need to see the appointment, the charge or the notice that gives the right to sell before we start work.

What an insolvency practitioner needs from us

An appointment brings a set of duties, and the auctioneer's job is to make them easier to discharge. In practice that means:

an asset schedule listing every item with description, serial number and location, prepared at the first visit
a written valuation giving forced sale and market values, for the statement of affairs and for creditor reporting
checks for retention of title claims on stock, and finance checks on vehicles and plant, so nothing is sold that the company does not own
a sale that is open to the market and properly advertised, with the marketing and the bidding recorded
a reconciled sale account after the sale, with hammer prices, buyer's premium and VAT shown separately

We report at each stage. If a creditor questions the outcome, the file shows how the sale was run.

Securing the site

The days after an appointment are when assets are most at risk. Keys may still be held by staff, and stock and tooling can go missing. We can attend the site at short notice, take a full inventory with photographs, and change the locks where the office holder asks for it.

Where the premises are leased, the landlord's position matters. A landlord may want the site back quickly, or may be looking to exercise their own rights over the goods. We work with the office holder's team to agree access for viewing and collection before the lease is disclaimed or the keys returned.

Items claimed under retention of title are set aside and not offered until the claim is resolved. Vehicles and plant subject to finance are held until the funder confirms its position.

How the auction runs

Insolvency assets are usually sold by online timed auction. The catalogue is photographed on site, listed with estimates and opened for bidding for a period agreed with the office holder, usually one to two weeks. A viewing day is held at the premises. Lots are offered as seen under the auction terms, and buyers are expected to inspect before bidding.

Buyers pay the hammer price plus a buyer's premium, with VAT charged where it applies and shown separately on the invoice. Payment is taken before collection. Buyers arrange and pay for the removal of their lots during an agreed collection window, using specialist movers where the weight and dimensions call for them. Our staff supervise collection so the premises are protected and every removal is signed off.

Private treaty is used for individual assets where a direct sale may produce more than the auction, subject to the office holder's approval.

Timescales

As a guide, allow three to five weeks from first instruction to final collection, depending on the asset position, access and how quickly buyers pay and collect. The catalogue can go live within days of the site visit where the asset position is clear. The main variables are retention of title claims, finance on vehicles and plant, and the date by which the premises must be vacated.

Where a landlord or lender is pressing for possession, tell us at the outset. A shorter bidding period is possible, and collection can be compressed, at the cost of the time buyers have to find the sale. We would rather run the sale properly and show a fair price than rush a sale that later has to be defended.

For directors

If your company is entering a formal process, the office holder will decide how the assets are sold. You can help by making the asset register, finance agreements and supplier terms available, and by telling the office holder about any assets held off site or on hire.

Do not sell or remove company assets after the appointment, or in the period before it when insolvency is likely. Sales made in that period can be challenged afterwards, so take advice before anything moves. If you want to buy back equipment from the sale you can bid in the auction like any other buyer, on the same terms and in the open.

Questions people ask

Can a director instruct the sale after the appointment?: No. Once an administrator or liquidator is appointed, the office holder controls the assets and only they can instruct a sale. We will speak to a director who contacts us before an appointment, but where a formal process follows, the instruction comes from the office holder and the proceeds are paid to the estate.
How do you deal with retention of title claims?: Stock supplied under retention of title terms belongs to the supplier until it is paid for. We identify stock that may be subject to a claim, set it aside and report it to the office holder. It is not offered for sale until the claim has been dealt with. Where a supplier collects their goods, we record what left the site.
What checks do you make on vehicles and plant?: We ask about outstanding finance, theft markers and write off history on road registered vehicles, and about finance on plant, and we explain the checks we make when we discuss the instruction. Where finance is found, the item belongs to the funder until it is settled, and it is held until they confirm their position.
What reporting does the office holder receive?: An asset schedule and valuation at the start, a copy of the catalogue and advertising before the sale, and a reconciled sale account afterwards showing the hammer price for each lot, buyer's premium, VAT and our fees. Any unsold lots and their disposal are recorded. The file is kept for the office holder's records.
Can directors or employees bid in the sale?: Yes. The auction is open to the public, and a former director or employee can register and bid like anyone else. They pay the same buyer's premium and are subject to the same terms. Because the sale is open and advertised, a purchase by a connected party is on the record alongside every other bid.
What about assets held away from the premises?: Tell us where they are. Assets in storage, at a customer's site or in a vehicle parked at an employee's home are common. We can collect them for the sale, or list them for collection from where they stand if the occupier will allow access. Hired equipment belongs to the hire company and is returned to them.

All questions people ask

Related services

Guides

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.