Euro Auctions showcased their exceptional ability to host ‘off site’ sales with the recent auction conducted for GA Smith Plant Hire which was held at the clients Cramlington yard just north of Newcastle.
Euro Auctions has gained an envious reputation for organising and hosting such one-off sales at the client’s own facility in a variety of market sectors, including plant hire, demolition, construction, aggregates, recycling, and agriculture.
But what made this sale so special was the fact that it was held on the eve of Europe’s biggest used plant and machinery auction, which is held at the Euro Auctions flag-ship site in Leeds and repeatedly puts in excess of 5,500 lots over the ramp during a four-day sale.
GA Smith made the decision to withdraw from the plant hire arena, selling their inventory to focus their attentions on the bulk handling, bulk haulage, and the earthworks elements of their business. As a result, 250+ pieces of good well-maintained machinery, including excavators, dozers, articulated dump trucks, crushers, tractors, and other assorted ex-rental machinery came onto the market and were disposed of in a one-day, unreserved sale.
With a hammer total for the sale of just under £7m, the average price per lot was close to £26,000 showing the general size and value of many items in the sale. With a good compliment of big-ticket items, including: 20t,10t and 6t excavators, Dozers, Articulated Dump Trucks, and Backhoes, there was much interest from an international audience.
Predictably the most successful buying nations were the UK and the Republic of Ireland, however successful bids were received from Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Turkey, such is the global reach that Euro Auctions has. Marketing to an international audience is part of the set-up for all sales, so whilst GA Smith may be in Northumberland, international buyers are made aware by Euro Auctions of the type of equipment on offer at a sale of this nature.
David Betts of Euro Auctions explains the significance of this sale. “This was a very significant sale on two counts. Firstly, holding an ‘off-site’ sale of this size so close to the big sale Euro Auctions hosts in Leeds showcases our capability to manage multiple auctions. Off-Site sales require a dedicated team to set up exactly the same infrastructure we have in the permanent sites in Leeds, including: bid catchers, registration teams, auctioneers, finance teams to take payments, yard teams to set up the sale, complete Wi-Fi across the site, as well as onsite welfare, screens for online bidding, and the list goes on.
“Hosting a £7m sale the day before a £40m sale does require good organizational skills. The second point is that for this very localised sale in the Northeast, Euro Auctions was able to tap into our database and market to an international audience. In truth, we are able to be very granular and market to specific buyers, who for example may have bought 20t excavators before, or big articulated dump trucks, etc, matching buyers with specific items, making for more competitive bidding, and gaining best price for the seller.”
For all upcoming sales visit the Euro Auctions website at www.euroeactionns.co.uk
More details in the next print issue of Plant & Civil Engineer.
