Britannia AuctionsWarehouse and logistics equipment sales in Swansea
Swansea is where the distribution network for west Wales starts. Units on the Enterprise Park at Llansamlet and at Swansea West in Fforestfach hold the racking, forklifts and pallet trucks that supply trade counters, factories, garages and hauliers as far as Llanelli and Ammanford and beyond. When one of those units closes or a contract changes, the equipment in it is the same kit firms nearby would otherwise buy new from a long way off.
We sell it by online timed auction, usually on site, though the access roads, the yard and the turning space are checked when we first visit and written into the catalogue. Where a unit will not take a collection day, the lots can be moved to our own premises for sale. The auction is online and open to buyers from any part of the country, and the trade in Neath, Port Talbot, Llanelli and Pontardawe, including the metals firms that use the heavier trucks, is close at hand. Tell us through the contact form what the unit holds and when it must be clear.
Mixed estates where one sale reaches several trades
The Enterprise Park mixes factories, warehouses and trade counters on the same roads, which is unusual and useful. A warehouse sale there sits among neighbours who make things and neighbours who sell or store them, and each uses a different part of it. A factory runs on the counterbalance truck and the chargers. A trade counter runs on longspan shelving and hand pallet trucks. A haulier runs on the racking runs and the dock equipment.
We lot with that in mind. Racking goes by run, shelving by bay, pallet trucks and roll cages in small groups. Nothing is bundled so large that a small firm cannot bid. The viewing day is on site, and the firms on the estate have the shortest journey to it. Because the bidding is online, dealers further afield are bidding on the same lots, so a local viewing does not mean only local interest.
Short leases and the near new fit out
The newer units along Fabian Way and at SA1 tend to be let on shorter terms, and the tenants who leave them often leave behind racking and handling equipment that is only a few years old. That is worth knowing, because racking with the manufacturer's load notices still on the frames tells a bidder exactly what it is rated for, and a forklift with low hours and a full service record answers the questions a dealer would otherwise discount for.
It also raises the question of what belongs to whom. Dock levellers, shelters and sometimes a mezzanine came with the building and stay with it. Racking, trucks and shelving bought by the tenant are theirs to sell. We check the lease and the fit out schedule at the site visit and catalogue only what is the tenant's. Where a lease break date is fixed, we work the auction and collection back from it so the unit is handed over clean.
What these sales can include
- Counterbalance forklifts
- Reach trucks
- Powered pallet trucks
- Hand pallet trucks
- Pallet racking
- Mezzanine floors
- Longspan and cantilever shelving
- Conveyors and sortation
- Roll cages and stillages
- Stretch wrap machines
- Pallet scales
- Battery chargers
- Order pickers and stackers
- Dock levellers and loading equipment
How the sale runs
After a site visit we agree what is in the sale and what stays. We catalogue and photograph each lot, list the sale online and market it to warehouse operators, dealers and contractors. Bidders view on a set day, then bid online over the sale period, with lots closing in sequence.
Lots are offered as seen under the auction terms, with buyers expected to inspect before bidding. The buyer pays the hammer price plus a buyer's premium, with VAT charged where it applies and shown separately. We collect payment before release.
Collection runs over a window agreed with you. Buyers arrange and pay for the removal of their lots, with suitable handling equipment or specialist contractors where the item needs them. Our staff attend to release lots against paid invoices and see that dismantling is done safely.
The warehouse and logistics equipment sales page covers racking and how it comes down, forklifts and the records that matter, the small equipment adds up, timing a sale around a site handover.
Questions about selling in Swansea
- Our forklift dealer has offered a trade in against a new truck. Is auction likely to do better?
Sometimes, and we give you a view on likely interest before you commit. A trade in price has the dealer's margin taken out of it and is tied to buying the new truck from them. At auction the truck goes to whoever bids most on the day, and the level turns on hours, the examination report, the battery and how easily the truck can be collected. If the trade in figure looks strong for the truck you have, take it and sell the rest with us.
- We are on the Enterprise Park and the neighbours share our yard. How does collection work?
We agree the collection days with you and, where it helps, with the neighbours. Small lots would go first by van and car, which causes little disruption. Forklifts and larger trucks are collected by a haulier the buyer arranges, on a set day, with a marked bay in the yard for loading. Racking comes down last, by the buyer's contractor and at the buyer's cost, and the sections leave from the same bay. A shared yard is common on the estate, and agreeing the days in advance is what keeps it workable.
More questions about warehouse equipment