Our yard is mostly plant and vehicles with a small workshop. Which sale does it belong in?

Both, run as one. The plant and vehicles are catalogued and advertised to the plant and fleet buyers, and the workshop equipment goes in a machinery section of the same sale for the engineering and motor trade. One viewing day, one closing date and one set of collection days keeps the disruption to a minimum. If the workshop lots are few, we may put them into a wider machinery sale instead so they sit in a bigger catalogue. We will say which after we have seen the yard.

The unit at Leith is on a short lease and the landlord wants it back at the end of the month. What can be done in that time?

A full sale from the premises is tight in a month but it can be done if we can catalogue within days. The alternative, and often the better one for a small workshop, is to collect everything to our own premises where that is agreed, and sell from there. That empties the unit at once, the landlord gets the keys, and the sale runs at its normal pace without the pressure of a date. We will tell you which route fits once we have seen what is there.

Machinery and engineering auctions in Edinburgh

There is less heavy engineering here than in Glasgow, and the machinery that comes to sale reflects that. The construction contractors, plant hire yards, hauliers and vehicle workshops at Sighthill and Newbridge run fitting shops with lathes, mills, saws, welding sets, presses and compressors bought to keep a fleet going. The marine trades around Leith and Seafield run similar shops with heavier lifting kit.

That kind of plant has a broad market, because a buyer does not have to be a specialist to use it. A fitter, garage, fabricator or small engineering firm can use a decent lathe or a good welding set. Bidding runs online and is not limited to the area, and the trade in the Lothians and through to Glasgow is within easy reach of a viewing day.

We catalogue on site or collect to our own premises, and we sell it all in one online sale. Tell us what is in the workshop through the contact form.

Fitting shops rather than production floors

A contractor's fitting shop is built to repair anything that comes back from site. That means a general lathe, a turret mill, a pillar drill, a bandsaw, a hydraulic press, several welding sets, a compressor and a lot of hand tools, plus the vehicle lifts and tyre kit if the fleet is serviced in house.

We lot it for the buyers it suits. Machines go singly with their tooling and their manuals if they exist. Welding sets go singly too, because a fitter wants one, not six. Hand tools, consumables, fasteners and spares go in trays and pallets by type so that a small buyer can bid on what they need without the rest.

The vehicle side, lifts, brake testers, diagnostic kit and tyre changers, suits the motor trade, with Livingston, Dalkeith, Musselburgh and Bathgate within easy reach of a viewing day, and it sits in its own section of the catalogue so those buyers can find it fast.

Older units at Leith, estate roads in the west

The western estates are usually the simpler ones, though we check each unit rather than assume it. Sighthill, Seven Hills and Newbridge sit close to the bypass and the M8, and where a low loader can stand is measured when we first visit.

Leith and Seafield are older. The marine and engineering units near the port have narrower streets, shared yards, parked cars and buildings that predate articulated lorries, and some of the heavier machines in them were put in through openings that no longer exist. We survey the route out before we write the catalogue and we say plainly what a rigger will find, including any need to dismantle or to crane over a wall.

Loanhead and Straiton, south of the bypass, are newer sites and are checked the same way. Buyers book and pay for the removal of their lots, and we agree the collection window and the order with you, attend, and release lots against paid invoices. Anything on hire or finance stays out of the sale unless the owner or funder agrees to it.

What these sales can include

CNC turning centres
CNC vertical and horizontal machining centres
Manual and toolroom lathes
Milling machines
Surface and cylindrical grinders
Press brakes and guillotines
Laser, plasma and waterjet cutters
Bandsaws and cold saws
Radial arm and pillar drills
Welding sets and positioners
Coordinate measuring machines
Tooling, chucks and workholding
Compressors and dust extraction
Cranes, hoists and forklifts

Viewing, bidding and the buyer's premium

Machinery sales run as online timed auctions. The catalogue is published with photographs and specifications. Buyers register, view the machines on the viewing day, and bid online until the lots close. The sale is advertised to the engineering trade, and bidding is online and open to buyers across the UK and beyond.

The buyer pays the hammer price plus the buyer's premium. VAT is charged where it applies and shown separately on the buyer's invoice. Ask and we will go through the specifics for your sale. Where a buyer is overseas, they arrange their own export.

Machines are offered as seen under the auction terms, and buyers are expected to inspect before bidding, which is why the viewing day matters. Machines that can be run safely stay connected for the viewing day so your staff can demonstrate them where that is agreed, and everything else is isolated and left safe.

The machinery and engineering auctions page covers what the buyers want to know, what affects demand, reserves and estimates, removal and access, when a private sale beats an auction.

Questions about selling in Edinburgh

Our yard is mostly plant and vehicles with a small workshop. Which sale does it belong in?: Both, run as one. The plant and vehicles are catalogued and advertised to the plant and fleet buyers, and the workshop equipment goes in a machinery section of the same sale for the engineering and motor trade. One viewing day, one closing date and one set of collection days keeps the disruption to a minimum. If the workshop lots are few, we may put them into a wider machinery sale instead so they sit in a bigger catalogue. We will say which after we have seen the yard.
The unit at Leith is on a short lease and the landlord wants it back at the end of the month. What can be done in that time?: A full sale from the premises is tight in a month but it can be done if we can catalogue within days. The alternative, and often the better one for a small workshop, is to collect everything to our own premises where that is agreed, and sell from there. That empties the unit at once, the landlord gets the keys, and the sale runs at its normal pace without the pressure of a date. We will tell you which route fits once we have seen what is there.

Related services

All business asset auctions in Edinburgh

Guides

How a commercial asset auction works
A stage by stage account of an online timed auction for business assets. It covers the asset schedule, cataloguing, viewing days, how bidding closes, buyer's premium and VAT, collection and how you get paid.
Preparing machinery and equipment for sale
What to do before viewing day. Keep the machines that can be run safely available to demonstrate, isolate the rest, clean but do not repaint, find the tooling and manuals, and sort out access for removal.
How used machinery is valued
Buyers pay for what a machine will do for them, less what it costs to get it out and running. This guide explains how make, hours, tooling, demand and removal cost feed a guide price, and why that price is not book value.

Machinery auctions elsewhere

All areas for machinery auctions