Britannia AuctionsPrivate treaty sales in Bristol
Aerospace work leaves behind machines that do not belong in a general auction. A composites autoclave, a five axis machining centre bought for one contract, a coordinate measuring machine or a test rig from the north fringe around Filton has a narrow buyer pool: other approved suppliers and the dealers who follow the sector. Expect them to ask for the calibration records and the maintenance history, because a machine with a complete file is easier to price than one without.
From Avonmouth and Severnside the picture is different but the logic is the same. A packaging line, a large generator or a process line from the distribution estates is a single asset with a defined market. We market it quietly, handle the offers, run sealed bids where needed and agree the price with you. Our fee is agreed in writing before marketing begins.
Composites and precision plant from the north fringe
The machining and composites firms across the north fringe run plant that is only a few years old and still under support. Five axis machining centres, autoclaves with their vacuum systems, clean layup rooms, coordinate measuring machines and non destructive test equipment. The likely buyers are other precision subcontractors in the UK and the specialist dealers who trade in this plant, with export interest possible where the specification suits.
A machine from an approved supplier carries a paper trail that helps the sale. Calibration certificates, preventive maintenance records, the controller options list and the tooling inventory are what a buyer's engineer asks for first, and having them ready saves time in the negotiation. The approvals themselves stay with your company, and we make that clear in the description so nobody offers on the wrong basis.
Where two or more buyers want the same machine we run a sealed bid round with a closing date. Where one buyer is already interested, we negotiate with them and keep a second party warm.
Flat port estates and tight inner city units
Bristol has two kinds of site and the removal is checked on both. On the Avonmouth and Severnside estates we look at vehicle access and room to turn, the yard surface, the loading arrangements and the door dimensions, then put what we find in the description. For a packaging line or a generator set from Cabot Park or Central Park, shipping from Avonmouth or Royal Portbury is an option to price where the buyer is abroad.
St Philips Marsh, Brislington, Ashton Vale and some of the older city units can be tighter. A machining centre in a unit down a narrow lane with parked cars on both sides needs a route survey, a look at the floor, a permit for the lorry to wait and sometimes a crane set up in the road. We check that before offers are invited and state it in the description, because the cost of the removal is part of the price.
Firms in Bath, Yate, Weston-super-Mare and across the bridge in South Wales are close enough to come and look.
What these sales can include
- CNC machining centres and lathes
- Printing presses
- Injection moulding machines
- Packaging lines
- Large generators and switchgear
- Cranes and heavy lifting equipment
- Specialist process plant
- Laboratory and test equipment
- Complete production cells
- Late model plant and vehicles
- Marine and rail equipment
- High value catering and bakery lines
How we market the asset
We inspect the asset, or have it inspected, and prepare a description with photographs, specification, condition and any service history. We then approach buyers directly: dealers who trade in that type of machine, and end users the asset suits. The asset can be advertised openly or offered only to selected parties. How open we are depends on how much confidentiality you need.
Interested buyers inspect by appointment. We attend or arrange access, answer questions and take offers. You are kept informed at each stage but do not have to deal with the buyers yourself.
There is no fixed end date. A private treaty sale takes as long as it takes to find the right buyer at the right price, which is one of its advantages and one of its costs.
The private treaty sales page covers when private treaty beats auction, how offers are handled, fees and what you receive, what to prepare.
Questions about selling in Bristol
- Does an aerospace approved machine sell for more because of the approvals?
Not directly. Approvals belong to the company and its quality system, not to the machine, so a buyer cannot inherit them. What does add value is the record keeping that comes with an approved shop: calibration history, maintenance logs, the tooling list and the controller backup. A buyer who can see that file has less to allow for, and that is where the record keeping shows in the offer.
- Can an autoclave be sold to a buyer outside aerospace?
Yes, and it widens the market. Autoclaves are used by motorsport, marine, rail and wind energy composites firms as well as aerospace, and by research departments. The size, the pressure rating, the temperature rating and the control system decide who can use it. We list the working dimensions and the ratings in the description and approach all of those groups. The removal usually needs a crane, so the description states the weight, the lifting points and what we found at the door.
More questions about private treaty
Related services
Guides
- Auction or private treaty: which route to choose
Auction gives you a fixed date and an open market. Private treaty gives you a negotiated price and privacy. This guide sets out when each route suits, what you give up with each, and why many sales use both.
- What happens to unsold lots
Not every lot sells, but the site still has to be cleared. This guide covers why lots go unsold, private treaty after the sale, lowering or removing the reserve, a later sale, scrap and WEEE recycling, and what disposal costs.