Britannia AuctionsLiquidation and insolvency asset sales in Aberdeen
An oil service company in administration may not have all its assets in one place. Some of the rental fleet is in the yard at Altens or Tullos. Some may be offshore on a platform or a vessel, coming back on a supply boat when the operator can arrange it. The first job for the office holder is to find out what exists and where it is, and the second is to stop the onshore part walking away.
We do both. Our first visit produces a schedule of everything on the premises with photographs and serial numbers, a list of everything shown in the asset register but not on site, and a written opinion of value. The sale is an online timed auction for the workshop plant and vehicles, with private treaty for equipment that only a few firms can use. Bidding runs online and is open to the whole of the UK, and the service trade at Westhill, Portlethen, Stonehaven and Inverurie is near enough to attend the viewing day. Use the contact form to describe the appointment.
Rental fleets and the kit still offshore
Equipment out on rental is the office holder's biggest question. The customer may still be using it, and its return follows the contract and their own schedule. Containers, lifting equipment, pumps, downhole tools and test units can come back over weeks or months. We schedule them from the asset register and the rental contracts, note where each item is and when it is due, and add them to the sale as they arrive. Items with no realistic prospect of return are reported as such so the office holder can decide whether to pursue them.
What is in the yard is dealt with at once. Lifting gear and containers are catalogued for other service companies and for rental firms. Current certification is one of the things a buyer prices on, and equipment without it is valued accordingly, which we set out rather than let the office holder find out at the sale. Vehicles, forklifts and workshop plant are checked for finance and sold in the auction with the rest.
Selling into a market that moves with the oil price
Demand for oil and gas equipment does not sit still. The oil price, how much similar kit is already on the market and how many comparable businesses are being wound up at the same time all bear on what a lot makes, whether the buyer is at Dyce, at Westhill, in the supply chain around the harbour or somewhere else entirely. Our view on value when we first visit weighs those factors alongside condition, specification and certification.
Two things help. Online bidding puts the equipment in front of buyers in the rest of the UK and overseas, where the cycle may be at a different point, and private treaty lets us approach the handful of firms who use a particular tool directly. Where the office holder can wait, and secure storage can be arranged, we set out what the choice depends on and give a view on likely interest before anyone commits. Where the landlord wants the yard back, we sell on the date set.
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
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.
The liquidation and insolvency asset sales page covers who instructs the sale, what an insolvency practitioner needs from us, securing the site, timescales, for directors.
Questions about selling in Aberdeen
- Some of the equipment is on a platform. Can it be included in the sale?
Only once it is back onshore and in the office holder's control. We list it from the asset register and the rental records, report where it is and when the operator expects to return it, and add it to a later sale or a private treaty offer when it lands. Items that the operator will not return, or that are lost, are reported to the office holder as a claim rather than an asset.
- Most of the lifting equipment is out of certification. Does that matter?
It affects the price more than whether it can be sold. Certification bears on what a buyer will pay, because without it the cost and the risk of recertification fall on them, or the item is bought for spares. We photograph the data plate and the last inspection date on every item, state the position in the catalogue and give the office holder a view on the cost of inspection before the sale against its likely effect on interest.
More questions about insolvency asset sales
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.