Britannia AuctionsLiquidation and insolvency asset sales in Birmingham
Birmingham's supply chain is built on small and medium sized firms that press, machine, plate and finish parts for larger customers. When one of those customers cuts a programme or fails itself, the shops beneath it can go quickly, and an administrator or liquidator inherits a unit in Witton or Tyseley full of heavy plant, customer tooling, part finished work and stock.
We take the instruction from the office holder, or from a lender or landlord entitled to possession, and we deal with the practical side. That starts with a site visit, arranged as soon as the office holder needs it, to schedule and photograph everything, a written view on value, a list of anything that needs a lender's consent and a plan for the sale. It usually ends with an online timed auction, a viewing day at the unit, a supervised collection window and a final report.
Tell us about the appointment through the contact form and we will come back with dates.
Press shops, customer tooling and who owns what
A pressings or metal finishing shop is rarely a clean asset position. The press tools on the shop floor often belong to the customer whose parts they make, and that customer may ask for them back as soon as the appointment is made. We ask the office holder to hold everything until ownership is checked against the tool register and the purchase orders. Tools that belong to the company go into the sale. Tools that do not are released against a receipt, and we record that release in the schedule.
The plant itself is catalogued for a national audience. Power presses, press brakes, guillotines and coil handling equipment go online with full photographs, and the engineering trade from West Bromwich and Walsall through to Dudley is within reach of a viewing day. Plating and anodising lines are harder. The tanks and rectifiers have a value, but the chemicals in them are a disposal job for a licensed contractor, and the office holder needs to know that early.
Getting heavy plant out of an inner city unit
Access is measured before anything is priced. Around Aston and Saltley we look at the vehicle route and turning space, the loading door, the floor levels and whether the yard is shared, and we note how every heavy lot comes out. A press on a pit, or a machining centre on the upper floor of a converted works, is a removal question before it is a sale one, and what it takes depends on the weight, the dimensions and the route. We put those facts in the catalogue so buyers price the removal in, and we set collection slots so that two hauliers are not fighting over the same gate.
Where the unit is on a short lease and the landlord wants it back, or where the site cannot be secured, the smaller plant can come to our own premises and be sold there. The heavy items stay put and are sold in situ with a fixed removal date.
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 Birmingham
- The plating line still has chemicals in the tanks. What happens to those?
We do not sell chemicals or effluent. At the first visit we note what is in each tank from the labels and the company's records, and we tell the office holder what needs a licensed waste contractor before the line can be moved. The empty tanks, rectifiers, filters and extraction sell as lots once that is done. If the office holder prefers, the line can be sold in situ to a buyer who takes on the decommissioning, and we make that condition plain in the catalogue.
- How long does it take to clear a press shop after the auction closes?
The collection window is agreed with the office holder, and its length is set by the number of lots, the access and how many items need specialist removal. Loose lots go out first, by van or on a forklift. Machines needing lifting equipment or a specialist contractor are booked into separate slots. Buyers arrange and cover the cost of the removal of their own lots, to a method statement we approve where a machine sits on a pit or under a crane. We attend, release lots once their invoices are paid and report as items leave.
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.