Britannia AuctionsSurplus equipment sales in Bristol
Paperwork is worth money in this city. The precision machining and composites firms that supply the aerospace sector at Filton and across the north fringe run their equipment under quality systems that most workshops do not, and when a machine or a test rig becomes surplus, the calibration records and service history that come with it are part of what a buyer is paying for. We tell sellers to find the folder before we photograph the machine.
The other side of Bristol's surplus is at Avonmouth and Severnside, where the distribution sheds produce racking, forklifts, dock equipment and packing machinery every time a contract changes hands. Different kit, different buyers, same method. We catalogue where the items stand and sell by online timed auction. Collection is booked in slots so that a working site stays working. Tell us what is idle and we will say what it is worth selling.
Machining and test kit with the records to match
A five axis machining centre from an aerospace supplier is not the same lot as the same machine from a general jobbing shop. It has been maintained to a schedule, its accuracy has been checked and the paperwork proves it. Buyers look for it, and the trade from Yate to Bath is near enough to view in person while the bidding itself is online. We put the maintenance history and any calibration certificates into the catalogue, and we photograph the control screen and the hours.
Composites plant is more specialist. Ovens, autoclaves, freezers for prepreg and clean room fit outs have a smaller pool of buyers, and a private treaty sale to one of them can be the better route for a single large item. We will give you a view on that before you decide.
Coordinate measuring machines, hardness testers, surface testers and other inspection kit are of interest to any firm with a quality department, in or out of aerospace.
The route out, from Avonmouth to the older sites
Where the kit is decides how it leaves. The Avonmouth and Severnside estates were laid out for articulated lorries, but the unit itself is what we look at: vehicle access and turning space, the loading facilities, door dimensions and the ground. Racking comes down in sections and trucks are driven or lifted, with the removal arranged and paid for by the buyer.
Sites at St Philips Marsh or Brislington are older. Floor levels, shared yards, whether a crane would need the road, and the route from an upper floor workshop to the street are all checked before anyone bids. We do that walk, put the answer in the catalogue so buyers know what they are taking on, and book collection so that one crew is in the building at a time.
In both cases buyers pay before they collect and our staff release lots against paid invoices. Isolation and disconnection are done by qualified people, never the buyer.
What these sales can include
- Machine tools and CNC equipment
- Forklifts and access platforms
- Pallet racking and shelving
- Compressors and air tools
- Welders and fabrication kit
- Vehicles and trailers
- Test and measurement equipment
- Site accommodation and containers
- Packaging and labelling machines
- Obsolete stock and components
- Office furniture and IT
- Catering and canteen equipment
Selling from a live site
Most surplus sales happen inside a business that is still trading. That changes how we work. Cataloguing is done around your shifts. Viewing is by appointment or on a single day, with visitors signed in and escorted. Collection is booked in slots so that nobody is moving a machine through the middle of a production run.
Items that are still bolted down, plumbed in or connected to services are isolated by a competent person before collection, with electrical and gas disconnection done by qualified people. Buyers arrange and pay for the removal of their lots, and they do not disconnect services themselves.
Tell us about anything that affects access: weight limits on floors, door heights, crane availability, restricted hours. It all goes in the catalogue so buyers plan the removal properly.
The surplus equipment sales page covers what counts as surplus, one sale or a standing arrangement, pricing, reserves and the buyer's premium, after the sale.
Questions about selling in Bristol
- We are a tier two aerospace supplier. Does export control affect what we can sell?
It can. Some machine tools and test equipment are controlled for export, and a buyer outside the UK may need a licence before it can leave. That is the buyer's responsibility, but we flag it in the catalogue where we know it applies, and we will ask you whether any item was bought under a licence condition. Whether a particular item is affected depends on its specification. If you are unsure, tell us and we will check before it is listed.
- Will our racking sell, or should we just have it taken down?
It is usually worth listing. Pallet racking is a standard item with a wide field of possible buyers, and the sheds around Avonmouth and Central Park keep that trade close to a viewing day. It is lotted by the bay, described by system, height and beam length, and buyers dismantle and collect in their slot. Racking taken down and stacked before the sale is easier to view but harder to judge, because nobody can see it standing. Either way is fine.
More questions about surplus equipment
Related services
Guides
- Preparing machinery and equipment for sale
What to do before viewing day. Keep the machines that can be run safely available to demonstrate, isolate the rest, clean but do not repaint, find the tooling and manuals, and sort out access for removal.
- How used machinery is valued
Buyers pay for what a machine will do for them, less what it costs to get it out and running. This guide explains how make, hours, tooling, demand and removal cost feed a guide price, and why that price is not book value.