A series of online auctions by King Sturge Plant & Machinery Ltd on behalf of Peel Ports Ltd have exceeded expectations
The firm were asked to auction off the machinery and spare parts of Wirral based Bridgewater Paper Co Ltd after the company was acquired by Peel Ports in June 2010.
Bridgewater Paper Co had been producing paper at the Ellesmere Port site for more than seven decades but fell into administration in February 2010 after a steady decline in the demand for paper due to the rise of digital media.
Peel Ports were keen to sell off all of the company’s remaining items ahead of the demolition and regeneration of the 55 acre site.
The sale, spread across online auctions in October 2010 and March 2011, saw more than 2,700 lots offered out to bidders over a combined six day period.
Over 200 bidders battled it out during the sale with strong international interest from as far away as Pakistan, India and the Middle East.
The majority of lots however were sold to end users and dealers based in the UK.
King Sturge P&M senior associate Andy Booth says he was pleased with how the sale of such a large number of items had been managed.
Mr Booth said: “This was a huge sale in terms of the number of lots on offer but the auctions have proven a great success, raising a substantial sum of money.
“There was a diverse range of assets on offer which attracted bidders from around the world and across many different industry sectors.”
He concluded: “Whilst there was substantial international interest the majority of items were eventually sold to UK bidders, which shows that even though the industry is going through a tough patch there is still a strong demand for industrial machinery assets, which can only be good for the future.”
