Britannia AuctionsPrivate treaty sales in Southampton
A boatyard on the Itchen changing its travel lift, a marine engineer on Southampton Water replacing a big lathe, a vehicle handling contractor at the docks renewing a fleet of late model tugs and tractors. Each of those is one asset worth a serious sum, with a small pool of buyers who know exactly what it is. Auction is the wrong tool for that. It needs volume and a crowd. Private treaty sale is the right one.
We inspect the asset, write it up properly, approach the yards and dealers who buy that type of kit, and put every offer to you in writing. There is no sale date and nothing appears in public unless you want it to. Our fee is agreed in writing before marketing starts.
Southampton adds one thing most places cannot. Where a buyer for a marine or aerospace machine is abroad, the container terminal is next door.
Boatyard plant and aerospace machines with few buyers
The assets that suit a negotiated sale here follow the port. Boatyards on the Itchen and along Southampton Water run travel lifts, boat hoists, large spray booths and CNC routers for hull moulds, and when a yard closes or moves up in size those machines suit other yards, on the Solent or, where there is export interest, overseas. The marine and aerospace suppliers on Solent Industrial Estate at Hedge End and along the Eastleigh corridor run machining centres, coordinate measuring machines, autoclaves and test rigs that suit subcontractors across the UK. The vehicle handling firms at the docks turn over late model terminal tractors, shunters, sweepers and vans in batches, and a batch sold to one operator is a private treaty job rather than an auction.
For each we build a description a buyer can price from: photographs, specification, hours, service history and what is included in the lift. Fareham, Portsmouth, Eastleigh and Totton are close by for a viewing, and buyers elsewhere in the UK work from the write up.
A buyer overseas and a container terminal next door
Export interest is possible for marine and aerospace machinery, and where it exists the job changes. A buyer who cannot come and look relies on the description, the photographs, the video and an inspection report, and the price has to allow for crating and shipping.
The port helps. From Hedge End or the Itchen the M27 and M271 give a route to the Western Docks without a town centre street in between. We can quote for delivery to the container terminal as part of the sale, and we deal with the freight forwarder on the buyer's behalf where that is wanted.
The waterfront yards are the harder part. A hoist on a slipway or a lathe on the first floor of an old boatshed is a rigging job first, and we settle the route and the crane position before an offer is invited.
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 Southampton
- Can you sell a marine machine to a buyer outside the UK?
Yes, and where export interest exists we market to it. The buyer pays us in full before anything moves. Export packing, crating, delivery to the docks and dealing with the forwarder can be arranged where you ask for it, with the cost agreed as part of the deal. An export sale usually takes longer than a UK sale because of shipping quotes and paperwork, and we set out the likely timetable at the start so the plan allows for it.
- Our terminal tractors are on a lease. Can they still be sold by private treaty?
They can, once the funder agrees. A vehicle on lease or hire purchase belongs to them until the agreement is settled, so they must consent and confirm the settlement figure before marketing. We contact them with your permission, get the figures in writing and set the price to cover the settlement. The buyer pays us, the settlement is usually paid from the proceeds, and you receive the balance less our fee and any agreed costs once the funds have cleared. Nothing is released until that is in order.
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.