Britannia AuctionsPrivate treaty sales in Liverpool
Being next to a port changes how a single machine sells. A reach stacker, a terminal tractor, a mobile harbour crane or a container handler from the dock estate at Seaforth or Bootle can suit buyers well beyond the UK, and the ship that takes it away can load a mile from where it stands. The same is true of a bioreactor or a filling line from Speke, or a robot welding cell from the automotive suppliers at Halewood. These are private treaty assets. A small buyer pool and a high value, with a removal that has to be planned.
We sell them by negotiation. We inspect the asset, prepare a description and approach the buyers who deal in that type of plant, in the UK and, where there is export interest, overseas. Every offer is put to you in writing and you decide which to take. No public catalogue, no sale date. Our fee is agreed in writing before marketing begins.
Port plant and process lines
Port handling equipment is the obvious one. Reach stackers, empty container handlers, terminal tractors, mobile cranes and forklifts of a size most estates never see. The likely buyers are other terminals, stevedores, inland container depots and the dealers who ship handling plant to ports abroad. A machine with hours, a service record, sound tyres and a current thorough examination certificate is straightforward to put in front of that list.
The pharmaceutical and biologics sites in Speke produce a different asset. Bioreactors, filling and packing lines, clean room equipment and laboratory instruments, all with qualification files that the buyer will read before they travel. We gather those files first and market the equipment to contract manufacturers and specialist dealers.
From the automotive suppliers around Halewood come press lines, press tools, robot cells and late model machining centres, with likely buyers in St Helens, Warrington, Runcorn and the Midlands. Each of these gets a direct approach and, where there is competition, a sealed bid round. You see our recommendation on every offer.
Shipping a machine straight from the dock
When the buyer is overseas, the removal and the shipping are one job. A container handler bought by a terminal abroad can drive to the quay, or a press from Halewood can be crated at the buyer's cost and containerised on the dock estate. We put the buyer in touch with their forwarder, agree who is responsible for packing and loading, and the sale terms set out that the asset is offered as seen, where it stands, with payment in cleared funds before it moves.
For a UK buyer the M57 and the M62 give the outer estates at Knowsley and Speke a road route. The older dockside roads can be tighter, and a heavy lift there needs a route survey, which the buyer's haulier prices into their offer. Vehicle access, turning space and door dimensions are checked on every site before the description is written.
Where a site must be cleared before a buyer is found, the asset can come to our own premises and be sold there.
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 Liverpool
- Can a buyer abroad pay and collect without coming to Liverpool?
Yes, where export interest exists and the paperwork is in order. We can have the machine inspected on their behalf or send a video of it running. The buyer pays us in cleared funds before anything moves. Their forwarder or agent then handles packing, loading, customs and export paperwork, and we release the asset to them against the agreed collection plan. Export licences, where they apply to specialist equipment, are the buyer's responsibility and we say so in the terms.
- Does a crane or a reach stacker need a current inspection certificate before you sell it?
Not strictly, though it bears on the offers. Lifting equipment is expected to have a current thorough examination report, and a machine that can go straight to work leaves a buyer less to allow for than one that cannot. If the report has lapsed we would suggest having it done before marketing, and that can be arranged. Where the machine is sold for parts or for export, a buyer may take it without one, at a lower figure.
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.