Britannia AuctionsPrivate treaty sales in Edinburgh
Edinburgh has fewer industrial sites than the cities to the west, and what comes out of them is often a single high value item. A large printing press from the west of the city, a mobile crane or a fleet of late model excavators from a plant yard at Loanhead, a bakery or bottling line from a food producer at Newbridge, a standby generator from an office building. The pool for any of these is spread across the UK rather than gathered locally, so each buyer has to be approached in turn, with a full description in hand before anyone travels.
That is a private treaty sale. We inspect the asset, market it directly to those buyers, handle the offers in writing and agree the price with you. No sale date is published and our fee is agreed in writing before marketing begins.
A wider net for a smaller local market
The city's industry is construction, plant hire, printing, food and vehicle work, and the private treaty assets follow from that. Printing presses and finishing lines, standby generators from the office and data sites, plant from the hire yards south of the bypass, and process and packing lines from the food producers.
Because the local pool is small we start from the whole country. A press from Sighthill is marketed to printers across Scotland and the north of England, and to the dealers who export. A crane from Loanhead goes to hire firms from Fife to the south coast. Livingston, Dalkeith, Bathgate and Dunfermline are near enough for a buyer to view in person, and a buyer further away can send an engineer or ask us to inspect on their behalf.
We write the description for a buyer who will not see the machine before offering, with hours or impressions, service history, controller and options and a note on anything that is worn.
Western estates first, Leith with a plan
The western estates are the simpler end. Sighthill and Newbridge sit close to the M8 and the bypass, and we check the approach, the turning space, the door dimensions and the floor before the lift is described. What we find goes in the description along with the route to the motorway.
Seafield and the older units around the port at Leith need more thought. Some of the buildings date from a time when nothing arrived by lorry, and the streets are shared with housing. A mobile crane may need a road closure. We walk the route, measure the doors, check the floor and state the crane position in the description so the buyer offers on the real job.
Where a lease is ending before a buyer can complete, the machine can be collected and held at our own premises, with marketing continuing from there where that is agreed. A sale does not have to finish before the keys go back.
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 Edinburgh
- What if the only serious buyer is in England and cannot inspect in person?
That is common enough here and we plan for it. We inspect the machine ourselves, photograph and video it running, gather the service history and the specification and send the buyer the lot before they decide whether to travel. Some buyers then send an engineer rather than come themselves. Where the buyer asks, we arrange an independent inspection report. The price is agreed subject to that inspection and nothing is dismantled until the buyer has confirmed.
- Can plant be sold from a yard that is closing at the end of a lease?
Yes, and the lease date becomes the plan. We market the machines while the yard is still open so buyers can see them working. Where the timetable allows, prices are agreed ahead of the closing date and collection is set to suit it. Anything unsold when the keys go back can come to our own premises, where that is agreed, and the sale continues. The lender's consent is needed first for any machine on hire purchase or lease, so we check that early.
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.