Strong prices at the last auction of 2021

The last Euro Auctions sale of year at the ‘flag ship’ site in Leeds provided buyers with no shortage of excellent quality equipment and machinery, and plenty of choice of makes, and models from over 3,500 lots that went over the ramp with a hammer total of £30 million.

Prices remain strong at the end of the year, with the demand for excellent quality used machinery still as high as ever. Whilst this has remained a constant trend for the entire year, buyers are still keen to acquire 12- to 24-month-old machines, and Euro Auctions are able to deliver, with the message to consignors ‘prices are good, sell with Euro Auctions’.

Compared to the same sale in December 2020, the average price of each lot was £8,540, which showed an increase of over 35%, highlighting the quality of plant and machinery for sale. Vendor numbers were high with 10% being new to the Euro Auctions sale, with sellers from 17 countries consigning equipment to this sale. That said, the home UK market represented the largest group of vendors, a trend we have seen across all sales this year.

One notable single vendor was Brian Doogue Haulage Ltd, who, following the closure of the M1 Smart Motorway project, which Brian Doogue had been contracting to, engaged Euro Auctions to dispose of its entire UK fleet of 30+ highly specialised vehicles with a hammer of just over £4 million.

Approved bidder accounts at Euro Auctions sales continue to increase, with this sale being no exception. Over the same sale in December 2020 the number of first-time bidder registrations increased by 13% with 25% of that number buying at this sale, showing buyers continue to support the Euro Auctions brand. 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. This now popular format gives buyers the chance to view machines for sale and then bidding via the internet, with over 70% of lots sold online.

David Betts, Euro Auctions Territory Manager comments on the sale: “Looking for a market trend, it was the larger equipment items that were grabbing the attention of buyers, such as: 20T Excavators, 10T Excavators, Articulated Dumptrucks, and heavy Commercial Vehicles. Having said that, the market is still starved of new machines, and it’s predicted that OEMs still will struggle to deliver in 2022. So, good, late, low hour machines are of premium interest to buyers. The Brian Doogue Haulage consignment of heavy commercials was a case in point and was certainly one of the highlights of the sale, with great 2019, 2020 and 2021 trucks of exceptional spec and in excellent condition, bidding was extremely brisk. Talking to buyers it was evident that contractors and operators whilst sourcing equipment for specific projects, they were snapping up good kit as it came over the ramp, due to market shortages.”

Top Buyers - by world region: This was a home market sale, with UK and European buyers bidding hardest.

United Kingdom £17.11 million 57.45% of total

Europe £1183 million 39.72% of total

Middle East £250,000 0.85%

South America £118,000 0.40%

Africa £361,000 1.21% of total

Rest of the World £112,050 0.37% of total