The ‘New Year’ used construction and agricultural machinery sale at the Euro Auctions flag ship site in Leeds in January proved that quality machinery will always attract the crowds.
With 6,500 lots for sale and a hammer total of £55.6 million, of which £21.7 million sold to bidders who attended on the day, showing the crowds like the live sale.
At this January, Leeds sale, the sheer volume of the visitors was instantly noticeable with this being one of the biggest crowds on record, with a significant uplift in live bidding and buying on the floor, on the day, proving the value of attending the live sale in person.
Vendor numbers continue to increase at each sale with 600 vendors sending equipment and machinery to Leeds from 26 countries worldwide. The previous January sale in 2023 returned a hammer total of £44.24 million. This sale saw a healthy 25% increase over that sale, with a hammer of £55.6 million starting the year with a real bang.
Registered customer accounts were up 25% this January, over January 2023 as 5,900 bidders registered for this sale, of which 1,000 were new buyers registering for the first time with Euro Auctions. Such is the interest in the Euro Auctions brand, that registrations to bid and buy were received from every single country in Europe, as well as the USA, South America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Top bidding countries were United Kingdom, Ireland, Poland, Romania and Spain, with the top buying countries exactly those countries in order.
Buyers from Europe represented 51% of the total sale and 45% of buyers were from the UK, with other successful buyers coming from in order North America Africa South America Middle East Asia and the Caribbean. With such an eclectic mix of countries bidding at this sale registrations were received from 87 countries of which 59 countries were successful in buying
Chris Osborne, Territory Sales Manager for Euro Auctions reports on this sale: “As 2024 gets underway, Leeds, January, sets the bar higher, again. This was an extraordinary sale, and the first observation was the number of attendees. All ‘sale rings’ were packed out and I don’t think we’ve seen such a big crowd on the floor, ever. Wednesday which invariably is a viewing day was absolutely rammed out and the mood of the crowd communicated ‘we are here to bid seriously’, and they did.”
“There was a very positive and vibrant feel to this sale, with bidding on all lots starting well and maintaining momentum over the three days of the auction. Auctioneers were opening bidding high, and bidders were jumping in, with an obvious competitive streak and bidding was fierce.”
“Many end users, contractors, and construction companies were buying, clearly for projects that were upcoming, and they were buying in multiples of machines, straight off the ramp, as opposed to single machines. This alone is a very good indicator that the market is strong, and buyers were competing for the best machines. In 2023 we were seeing a lot of machinery going out of the UK, mainly to Europe. Now our intelligence is telling us that demand in the UK is on rise.”
“In 2023 there was one clear trend. Owners were cashing in and disposing of inventory. In this sale there was a definite feel of calculated bidding, with buyers shopping for specific items to fulfil plant lists for a project or to replenish an existing fleet. These buyers were targeting ‘two-to-three-year-old’ machines and clearly buying with own use in mind. This indicates the gap between new and used plant values has widened, making the used option more attractive and buyers now see value in good fresh used equipment. The interesting conundrum is that with buyers having such an appetite for, late, low hours machines, this gives sellers the confidence that Euro Auctions can attract the right audience. With good buyers in abundance, you’ll find good vendors and that’s where good equipment comes from. With 6,000+ machines at each Leeds sale filling that yard, with serious buyers registering at each sale, this gives vendors great confidence in Euro Auctions to gain market value.”
“With rates dropping, cheaper finance is more available. This will stimulate the market across all areas and buyers still have an appetite to buy, if the cost of borrowing is more affordable.”
“So, what was plentiful? What was the market looking for? And what was Euro Auctions able to deliver? Articulated dump trucks were in demand. Dozers were evident, with a lot of CAT machines on offer across all models. Heavy excavators in the 30 tonne plus bracket were in demand and making good money.”
