Britannia AuctionsLiquidation and insolvency asset sales in Bristol
Two kinds of company fail in Bristol with two different kinds of asset. On the north fringe, aerospace subcontractors go into administration with machining centres, composite ovens, inspection equipment and work in progress that is made to a customer's drawing and released under the customer's approval. At Avonmouth and Severnside, distribution and food operations fail with a large shed, thousands of pallet bays of racking, dock levellers, forklifts and a landlord waiting for the keys.
We act for administrators, liquidators, lenders and landlords in both. The first visit produces the schedule, a written opinion of value and a note of finance, retention of title and customer property, and the sale is usually an online timed auction with a viewing day on site. The catalogue is open to bidders across the UK, and Bath, Yate, Thornbury and the towns along the M5 are close enough to view in person. Use the contact form to tell us about the appointment.
Aerospace subcontractors and the parts that belong to the customer
Precision machining plant from a Filton supplier is catalogued for a national audience. Five axis machining centres, lathes with live tooling, grinders and coordinate measuring machines are of interest to subcontractors in the aerospace, motorsport, medical and defence trades, and an online catalogue with photographs of the controls, the tooling, the hours and the plate reaches them wherever they are. Fewer firms can use a composite oven, an autoclave or a clean room, so those are often worth offering by private treaty alongside the auction.
The work in progress and the material are a different matter. Parts machined to a customer's drawing, together with the drawings, fixtures, gauges and customer supplied material, usually belong to the customer under the contract and cannot be sold. Some of it is subject to export control and cannot even be shown. We separate customer property when we walk the site, hold it under the office holder's control and record its release. Nothing goes into the catalogue that the company does not own, and the sale report says what was returned and to whom.
Racking, dock levellers and a shed to hand back at Avonmouth
A distribution shed at Cabot Park or Central Park is mostly fit out. The racking, mezzanine floors, dock levellers, conveyors and charging bays were installed by the tenant, and the landlord will want either to keep them or to have them removed before the keys go back. That decision comes before the catalogue. Where the landlord wants them out, we sell the racking by run and by bay to racking dealers and to other warehouse operators, with dismantling by the buyer under a method statement and a fixed removal window that fits the lease.
Forklifts, reach trucks, pallet trucks and vans are simpler and go into the same auction, open to trade buyers across the region and further afield. Access at the Avonmouth estates is checked when we first visit like anywhere else, and the vehicle route, the yard and the loading arrangements go in the catalogue so buyers know what they are collecting from. Stock in the shed that belongs to customers of the failed operator is listed and held for the office holder to release, not sold.
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 Bristol
- The landlord wants the racking gone before the lease ends. How quickly can that happen?
The bidding is the short part. Dismantling takes longer than most people expect, so the two are planned together. We catalogue it by run with the bay sizes and load ratings on the beams, and buyers bid knowing they must dismantle and remove it themselves under a method statement we approve. The collection window is agreed with the office holder to fit the lease date. Where the date is too tight for a sale in situ, a racking dealer can be invited to make a private treaty offer for the whole installation.
- Some parts on the shop floor are export controlled. What do you do with them?
We do not photograph or list them. At the first visit we ask the company's quality manager, or the office holder, which parts, drawings, fixtures and materials fall under export control or customer approval, and those are segregated and held for return to the customer under the office holder's authority. The catalogue is checked before it goes live. Machines are sold clear of customer fixtures and programmes, and controls are reset where the customer requires it.
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.