A Euro Auctions sale at its flagship site in Leeds featured more than 6,000 lots for sale on the company's 25th anniversary, providing the biggest sale ever.
Like the perfect storm, the planets aligned, consignors offered more quality machinery than ever before, buyers got wind of the fact the machinery on offer was of exceptional quality and there was lots of it. That, combined with consignments of 1,000 excavators, from mini diggers to over 22-ton machines, that went over the ramp on sale day, this was the most exceptional sale that Euro Auctions has ever hosted, the company said.
And, if that wasn't enough, it coincided with the 25th anniversary of Euro Auctions.
In March 1998, in Dromore, Northern Ireland, the Keys family was hosting its first plant auction, which featured 371 lots. Now, 25 years later, 6,171 lots from 578 vendors, from 28 countries, were sold to 4,888 bidders from 90 countries.
At this March sale, 578 vendors from 28 countries consigned equipment to the sale. Predictably, it was the home nation that ruled this auction, with 511 vendors coming from the UK.
Nearly 5,000 bidders registered to take part in this sale, with 84 percent bidding online, however, with floor bidders and the camp-followers who like to turn up at each auction for the buzz of a "big sale", the crowd on the day was one of the biggest Euro Auctions has seen, with 20 percent of bidders registered for the first time with Euro Auctions, of which more than 15 percent purchased.
Again, the home crowds were the most aggressive bidders with UK buyers securing 45 percent of the lots on offer, with bidders from Europe being 51 percent of the buyers, with the Middle East, North America, Africa, South America and the Caribbean making up the remainder.
"To continue to report that Euro Auctions has just had another record-breaking sale, sale-on- sale, may be sounding repetitive, however the business cannot apologize enough for that continued exuberance in reporting each sale," Chris Osborne, sales manager at Euro Auctions, said.
"That fact is each sale just gets better and better. We are inundated with good machinery and our customers trust us to achieve best price."
Record Consignments Show Confidence, Trust in Euro Auctions
"The strength of this sale was astounding, with the number and quality of consignments unprecedented," said Osborne.
"With many large rental companies refreshing inventory, sending large multiple consignments to this sale, and the numbers were quite remarkable. The value of those Top-10 consignors amounted to over £20 million in sales. One rental company consigned £7.5 million of machinery, another £2.6 million, another £2.1 million, another £1 million. In the list of the next 40 consignors, in the top 50, the average consignment per individual vendor was in the region of £200,000.
"This shows the level of trust and confidence that the market has in Euro Auctions. To dispose such large consignments of machinery, in an open and unreserved sale, on the final knock of the auctioneers' hammer, our consignors trust Euro Auctions to gain the best price the market can provide.
"Following various conversations, many of those rental companies, it was clear that they were awaiting consignments of new machines from OEMs. With fresh used machines maintaining their value when compared to new stock, owners were happily disposing of inventory, with an ‘out with the old, in with the new' attitude at this sale. These were strategic business decisions, as you don't sell millions worth of machines, at an unreserved sale, on a whim."
Strong Prices
"At this auction it was evident prices were going to be strong from the very first day," Osborne said. "There was an urgency to the activity of the sale, with prospective buyers not holding back, but getting straight into serious bidding. My colleagues and I could feel the atmosphere which was palpable.
"We have been noticing this sense of urgency at previous sales where buyers are keen to try and secure good lots. Whilst this is a ‘self-regulating' industry, with the market dictating the value of each item sold — demand and supply set the price. Those following the auction closely will have noticed that many models increased in prices since the sales of late 2022."
Market Price
"The used construction and agricultural machinery sector in the UK, and Europe, uses each Euro Auctions sale to ‘price check' the industry," Osborne said.
"As we sell so much construction and agricultural machinery, every 6 weeks, we do know the true value of equipment. With 6,000-plus machines at this sale, including 1,000 excavators, we have a wide breadth of data at our disposal as to what machine values are. As we will sell models and ranges from almost every popular manufacturer, age from new to 10+ years old, we really do know what current values are."
Stock In Abundance
"For the next Euro Auctions sale at the Leeds site, on the 26th to 29th April we have over 1,000 pieces already consigned to this auction and in the yard at Leeds. With consignors choosing to work with Euro Auctions so far out in the auction cycle, vendors trust us and want us to sell their equipment for them."
For more information, visit www.euroauctions.com.
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