The sale at Euro Auctions' Leeds site amassed an inventory of new to 48 month old machinery in addition to attracting one of the largest registrations of bidders for the four-day sale.
The auction company says that market confidence was high at the sale in late January, with over 4,600 lots on offer.
It adds that the event was well attended, with the largest physical crowd attending since pre-Covid times, showing the optimism that exists in the marketplace.
Thirty per cent of all successful bids were from buyers on the floor, with the remaining 70% of sales coming from internet bids from registrations in 97 countries. The home markets were strong with 60% of all successful bids coming from the UK and the Republic of Ireland, and 96% of all successful bid coming from the UK and Europe alone.
In a market depleted of good new stock, Euro Auctions says buyers were eager to purchase good late, low-hours equipment, and multiple compliments of new to 48 month old machines were evident and in high demand.
Compared with the sale in December 2021, the number of first-time bidder registrations increased by 20% with 25% of those first-timers buying at this sale.
Top Buyers - by world region:
United Kingdom £18.89m 48.00% of total
Europe £18.86m 47.90% of total
Middle East £617,000 1.58% of total
South America £111,150 0.29% of total
Africa £256,410 0.66% of total
Rest of the World £212,301 1.57% of total
With Covid restrictions still in place, this sale was a physical auction, as well as being conducted live and 'online' via the roust bidding platform the Euro Auctions operates. The auctioneer says this now popular format gives buyers the chance to view machines for sale and then bidding via the internet, with a Timed Auction taking place on the last day of the sale.
Disussing current market trends, Chris Osborne, Euro Auctions sales manager, said: "This sale was very different to any of the Covid sales we have conducted in the last 18 months for a number of reasons. Prices were strong, with the same number of lots going over the ramp as in January 2021, however at this sale the hammer was £39m, an increase of over £10m over the January sale in 2021. Clearly bidders were determined to purchase new stock.
"The prices achieved for 'telehandlers' and 'mini-diggers' were literally on-fire, with 17 and 18 plate machines making close to new money. With good stock on offer in the 2018 to 2021 bracket there were over 123 Excavators and 22 Telehandlers less than four years old. With OEMs passing three price increases to their dealers over the last 18 months this has had a startling effect on the price of used machinery. There were many gems making very good money, with hot bidding for telehandlers and mini diggers. Of all the equipment sold, here are my considered 'top picks' of a few of the best performing lots in the sale."
