Britannia AuctionsLiquidation and insolvency asset sales in Cardiff
We take instructions from administrators, liquidators, lenders and landlords across Cardiff and the towns around it. The assets vary more here than in most cities. A construction contractor at Wentloog fails with a yard of plant and vans. A builders merchant on Hadfield Road fails with racks of stock, a forklift and a counter. A production company in the Bay fails with cameras, lighting, sound kit and edit suites, most of it on lease.
Each gets the same first visit. We schedule every item with a photograph and a serial number, give a written opinion of value and list what is on finance, what is on hire and what belongs to somebody else. The route is an online timed auction for most jobs, with a viewing day at the premises, and private treaty for single items with a narrow market. Bidding runs online and is open UK wide, with Newport, Bridgend, Caerphilly and the valleys near enough to view in person. Use the contact form to describe the appointment.
Builders merchants, plant yards and stock sold by the pallet
Construction failures on the east of the city leave two kinds of asset. The plant is the straightforward part. Excavators, dumpers, telehandlers, compactors and vans go online for bidders across the UK, and contractors in South Wales are within reach of a viewing at Wentloog or Lamby Way. The vehicle route, turning space and loading arrangements are checked at the site visit.
The stock is slower. A builders merchant holds timber, sheet material, bricks, blocks, ironmongery, plumbing and electrical stock, some of it supplied on retention of title terms and some of it damaged or out of date. We count it by product line on our first visit, note the suppliers whose terms may give them a claim, and lot what remains by pallet and by bay so that trade buyers and small builders can bid. Whether it does better lotted by pallet or offered in bulk depends on the quantity, the condition and how quickly the yard has to be clear, and we give a view before the catalogue is drafted.
Cameras, lighting and edit suites with a lease behind them
Media and creative companies in the Bay fail with assets that are small and valuable, and mostly on somebody else's paper. Cameras, lenses, lighting rigs, grip, sound kit, edit workstations and monitors are often leased or on hire from rental houses, and the first job is to match every serial number to a finance agreement or a hire contract. What the company owns outright goes into the sale. What it does not is held for the lender or the hire company to collect against written authority.
What remains is catalogued for a national online audience. Camera operators, production companies, broadcast firms and rental houses bid from anywhere, often without visiting, so the photographs show the serial plate and the condition of every item. High value lots can be held at our own premises for security where the office holder agrees. The office holder receives a schedule that shows each item against the agreement it was matched to, which is the record creditors ask for.
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 Cardiff
- Most of the production kit is on lease. Is there enough left to sell?
Nobody knows until the lease position is settled. We match each item to the finance and hire records at the first visit and report the split to the office holder. Owned equipment is catalogued. Equipment on lease or hire remains the funder's property until it is settled and can only be sold with the funder's agreement, and where they agree the settlement figure is usually paid from the proceeds and accounted for separately. Consumables, spares, cables and the office contents are the company's and are sold regardless.
- The merchant's stock has suppliers claiming it back. Can the sale go ahead?
The plant can usually be catalogued while that is resolved. The stock waits until the office holder has dealt with the retention of title claims, which we help with by counting the stock by supplier and product line on our first visit and by photographing the delivery labels. Stock a supplier proves is theirs is released to them. The rest is sold. We keep the two apart in the yard so that collection days do not mix them up.
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.