Britannia AuctionsStock clearance auctions in Swansea
A factory does not empty itself. When a manufacturer on the Enterprise Park or at Fforestfach winds down, the machines are the obvious sale, but the stores are often worth more attention. Finished goods that were never despatched, raw material bought for orders that were cancelled, packaging printed for a product that has stopped, and the spares and consumables that kept the line running. Most of it can be catalogued for the trade, and none of it is worth keeping past the day the lease ends.
We run stock clearances as online auctions, lotted so that a wholesaler, a rival manufacturer, an exporter and a trade counter can all find something to bid on. Metal stock is lotted for fabricators. Finished goods are lotted for resellers and exporters.
Tell us what is on the shelves and when the building has to be handed back.
Finished goods and raw material from the same factory
Finished goods are the easy part, if the ownership is clear. Product made for a customer who has not paid for it is yours to sell. Product made to a customer's design with their name on it needs their agreement, and we ask for it before listing. Plain, own brand or unbranded product goes straight into the catalogue, lotted by the pallet for wholesalers and in smaller lots for online resellers.
Raw material is lotted by what it is. Coil, sheet, bar and tube are lotted for fabricators and pressworkers by weight and grade, with the grade and the coating stated, because that is what the trade prices on. Plastic granules, resins, adhesives and chemicals sell by the sealed bag or the drum, in date and labelled. Cartons, film, pallets and labels go to other packers.
Spares for the machines are lotted alongside the machines when the plant is sold too, because that is where the value is.
Trade buyers along the M4 corridor
The metals and engineering firms between Llanelli and Port Talbot are an easy drive from a viewing day, and raw material is lotted with them in mind. Junctions 44 and 45 keep a lorry out of the town. Neath, Bridgend and the rest of the M4 corridor are a short run away, and exporters bid online.
Collection runs in booked slots over two or three days. What each unit offers is checked first, including the loading bay, the door dimensions and whether a forklift is available, and the lotting follows, with smaller lots and van collection where the route out is tight.
The sale is online from start to finish, so a bidder in Aberdeen or Kent sees the same catalogue and pays the same premium. That matters for specialist raw material, where the right buyer may be on the other side of the country.
What these sales can include
- Discontinued product lines
- Overordered components and parts
- Customer returns and graded stock
- Seasonal goods
- Ex display and showroom items
- Packaging and consumables
- Raw materials and fabrics
- Bulk trade stock on pallets
- Tools and hardware
- Homeware and furniture stock
- Clothing and footwear
- Building products and fixings
Running the sale
A stock clearance runs as an online timed auction, open for a week to ten days in most cases. There is a viewing day at your premises, or at the location where the stock has been gathered. Bidders inspect the lots, then bid online until each lot closes.
After the sale, buyers collect within a window agreed with you, usually a few days. Collection is the point where a stock sale needs organising. Buyers arrive with vans and lorries, lots have to be handed to the right person and the paperwork has to match. Our staff manage the door and sign each lot out.
If you cannot host viewing and collection, the stock can be moved to our premises or a third party warehouse where that is agreed. That adds transport cost but keeps the process away from your trading site.
The stock clearance auctions page covers when an auction is the right route, lotting the stock, offered as seen and the buyer's position, alternatives to auction.
Questions about selling in Swansea
- The factory runs until the end of the month. Can the sale happen while we still trade?
Yes, and it is often the best way. We catalogue the surplus while production continues, keeping it separate from live stock with tape and lot labels. The auction closes a few days before the last shift, and collection is set for the days after production stops, when the loading bay is free. That way the building empties in one movement instead of two. Tell us the date the keys go back and we work the sale backwards from it.
- Our coil and sheet stock is coated steel. Who buys that besides the scrap trade?
Fabricators, roll formers, pressworkers and the roofing and cladding trade, mostly. Coated coil in a stated gauge and finish is a working material for them, and a full coil with the mill label on is worth more than its scrap weight. Part coils, mixed gauges and stock that has rusted at the edges are described as such and priced accordingly. We weigh, photograph the labels and give the gauge and width in the catalogue.
More questions about stock clearance
Related services
Guides
- What insolvency practitioners need from an auctioneer
For office holders realising physical assets. Covers the instruction letter, the asset schedule and valuation basis, retention of title, finance checks, site security, health and safety during the sale, and the reconciliation you need for the file.
- 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.