Britannia AuctionsLiquidation and insolvency asset sales in Bradford
An appointment over a Bradford textile firm usually means an old mill. The spinning frames, looms, dye vessels and finishing plant sit on several floors of a stone building with a goods lift that may or may not work, a yard that was laid out for horse drawn carts, a steep approach off the main road and a landlord who wants it empty. The plant may be worth a good deal to the right buyer, but getting it out is half the job.
We act for administrators, liquidators, lenders and landlords across the district. The first visit produces a schedule with serial numbers and photographs, an opinion of value, a note on how each heavy item comes out and a list of anything on finance. The sale is an online timed auction in most cases, with a viewing day at the mill. Bids are placed online and the sale is open to buyers anywhere in the UK, with Halifax, Huddersfield, Keighley and Leeds close enough for a viewing day. Use the contact form to describe the appointment.
Spinning frames, dye vessels and wool stock on three floors
Textile machinery is catalogued for buyers here and overseas. Modern spinning, twisting, winding and finishing plant is put in front of the remaining wool and worsted firms in the district and of mills abroad, through an online catalogue with full photographs of the drives and the maker's plate. Older frames and looms may be worth more as scrap than as machines, and we say so.
Dyehouse plant needs care. Dye vessels, drying cylinders, stenters and presses are big, and they are plumbed into a steam and effluent system that stays with the building. We schedule them as fixtures or as removable plant after looking at the lease and the installation, and we list what services have to be isolated before they move. Wool tops, yarn, grey cloth and finished pieces are lotted by count and weight, and accurate lot descriptions are what the trade bids on.
Yards, gates and what access does to the timetable
The site tells us the route before the assets do. At the first visit we look at the approach, the gate, the yard and turning space, the loading door, the floor levels and the state of the goods lift. A mill at Thornbury or on Bowling Back Lane that can take buyers' vehicles may be sold in situ, with collection over an agreed window. Where the approach, the gate or an upper floor makes that impractical, the plan changes.
We set it out in the first report. Each heavy lot gets a note on how it leaves the building and whether lifting equipment or a specialist contractor is needed, and the catalogue repeats it. Where the landlord wants the building back on a date that does not allow for slow removal, we can take the smaller lots to our own premises and leave only the heavy plant in situ with a fixed removal date. Bakery and food lines on the estates near the M606 are checked in the same way, and what a buyer's vehicle can reach is recorded in the catalogue.
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 Bradford
- The plant is on the upper floors and the goods lift is condemned. Can it still be sold?
Yes, with the removal cost in the open. We describe the access at the first visit, photograph the stairs, the loading door, the yard and the lift, and give the office holder a view on what the removal is likely to cost. Where the cost of removal exceeds the likely price, we say so, and the office holder can decide between selling the item for scrap or leaving it out of the sale.
- The dyehouse effluent plant and boilers look like part of the building. Whose are they?
It depends on the lease and on how they were installed, and it is a question for the office holder and the landlord rather than for us. Our part is to describe each item accurately, with photographs of the fixings, the pipework, the drains and the services, so the question can be answered quickly. Plant agreed to be the company's is sold with removal under a method statement. Plant agreed to be the landlord's is left out of the catalogue and noted in the report.
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.