Britannia AuctionsLiquidation and insolvency asset sales in Northampton
A haulier or pallet firm at Brackmills or Swan Valley brings a particular set of problems. The shed is rented, the tractor units are on finance, the trailers are a mix of owned and hired, and the racking is full of goods that belong to customers under a storage contract. The company's own assets are the forklifts, the workshop, the office and whatever vehicles have been paid off. Finding out which is which is the first day's work.
We act for administrators, liquidators, lenders and landlords across the county. We attend at short notice, schedule and photograph every item, list what is financed, hired or held for customers, and give a written opinion of value. The sale is an online timed auction, in situ where the shed can be kept. The online catalogue is open to bidders across the UK, with Wellingborough, Kettering, Daventry and Rugby close by for viewing. Use the contact form to describe the appointment.
A shed full of customers' goods and a network that wants its cages back
The first days matter. A pallet network or a parcel carrier may want its equipment back quickly, and customers whose goods are in the racking may arrive asking for them. We can attend at short notice, change the locks where the office holder asks, and control who takes what. Every customer collection is against a signed receipt and logged. Every network cage, trailer and scanner is listed and returned to its owner with a record.
Once the shed is down to the company's own assets, the sale is straightforward. Forklifts, pallet trucks, racking, dock levellers, workshop tooling, tyres, fuel and office contents go into one online catalogue. Owned trailers and settled tractor units join them. A financed vehicle belongs to the funder until the agreement is settled and is only offered where the funder agrees, with the settlement usually paid from the proceeds. The M1 junctions are minutes away, and the vehicle access at the shed is checked on our first visit and stated in the catalogue.
Lasts, clicking presses and leather from a shoe factory
Footwear manufacture in the town is smaller than it was, but the firms that remain are equipped in a way few other places can match, and when one fails the assets need a specialist audience. Clicking presses, skiving machines, lasting machines, stitching and welt sewing machines, finishing lines and thousands of lasts are of interest to the other shoemakers in the area and overseas. Leather in the hide store, uppers in progress and finished pairs have a value too, but they need to be counted and sold before they mark, and kept dry until then.
We catalogue this in detail, with the maker's plate and model on every machine, because bidders for this kit may be a long way off and cannot always visit. Finished stock may carry a brand that the office holder controls, and we sell it with or without the branding as instructed. Where the access at an older town centre unit does not suit a viewing day, the smaller lots can be collected and sold from our own premises.
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 Northampton
- Customers are ringing the depot asking for their stock. Can they take it?
Only with the office holder's agreement and against a receipt. The goods belong to the customers, but the company may have unpaid charges against them, and the office holder may want to settle those before release. We take the warehouse management data at the first visit and match it to what is on the racks. Each collection is checked against that list, photographed and signed for. Nothing leaves without a record, which protects the office holder if a customer later claims a shortfall.
- The shed lease runs to the September quarter day. Is that enough time?
We propose a timetable at the site visit and work it back from the quarter day. Scheduling depends on how much customer stock has to come out first, and the cataloguing, the bidding period and the collection window each depend on the number of lots and the access. Where racking is coming out, the buyer's dismantling time is part of the plan, and the landlord is given the dates.
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.