The record-breaking auction took place ahead of the ambitious firm’s imminent expansion of its flagship Leeds site.
“We physically had to shut the gates on this sale, allowing nothing else onto the site, as we had run out of space,” explains Jonnie Keys, Euro Auctions operations manager, “This was our biggest sale to-date and even with the new 45 acre extension that we added in 2017, making the total site area 70 acres we are looking forward to opening our new facility in early 2019.”
Keys continues: “As the Euro Auctions business continues to expand, we have embarked on the building of what is believed to be the largest permanent auction facility for industrial plant, construction and agricultural machinery, in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). This new facility will allow us to conduct five 3-day sales each year, with a capacity to auction between 5,000 to 6,000 lots during each auction. The new facilities will greatly enhance the customer experience, from consignors selling equipment, to buyers who can sit in comfort and enjoy the action of the sale.”
The new Euro Auctions development includes the construction of new workshops, office and main administration centre, auction arena and sales ramp, in addition to a 2380m² jet wash bay, which is again believed to be the largest in Europe.
The 45-acre extension to the existing yard brings the Euro Auctions site up to over 70 acres in total. The three new purpose-built structures all at various stages of completion, which will see all facilities fully operational in early 2019.
Established in 1998, Euro Auctions is among leading auctioneers of used industrial plant, construction machinery and agricultural equipment, conducting over 60 major unreserved auctions every year. It has 10 permanent auction sites in the UK, Spain, Germany, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and the USA (where it operates as Yoder & Frey). Euro Auctions markets equipment globally to over 150,000 buyers in over 95 countries and also offer an online sales platform that is robust, secure and free to use. It also specialises in off-site sales which in 2017 included the largest ever one day auction of mobile cranes, where 127 units sold for €32 million.