BPI Auctions

BPI Auctions is a commercial asset disposal business based at Ripley House, Ripley Drive, Normanton, Wakefield, West Yorkshire. The auction company is BPI Auctions Limited (company no. 07279488, VAT no. 991821100); a sister firm, BPI Asset Advisory Ltd (company no. 11705155), handles RICS valuations. It sells for insolvency practitioners, lenders and finance houses, hire companies, SMEs and private clients, and for firms that are starting up, retiring, relocating, restructuring, closing or renewing a fleet. Sales are timed online auctions, several closing every working day.

What you can buy

• Plant and construction machinery: diggers, dumpers and general site plant, a Mercedes Unimog, welfare and site accommodation from national hire fleets.
• Engineering and metalworking: CNC fibre laser cutters, sheet metal guillotines, and complete engineering and fabrication workshop contents.
• Woodworking and timber: CNC routers and woodworking machines, English oak and ash engineered flooring, hardwood and softwood stock.
• Cars, vans and HGVs: Scania tractor units, commercial trailers, ex-lease and ex-fleet LCVs and box vans.
• Forklifts and access equipment: material handling trucks, Power Tower Nano manual mast lifts, Snorkel access equipment.
• Agricultural machinery: Fendt Vario tractors and farm implements.
• Catering, site accommodation and stock: restaurant and bar contents, modular canteen and office units, storage containers, one-off industrial lines such as LV switchgear or pharmaceutical plant, and clearance lots like new double-glazed windows.

How the bidding works

Registration is free and open to individuals as well as businesses, provided you are over 18. BPI may ask for photo ID (a current passport or UK driving licence) and a credit card authorisation, and anyone bidding for a company must confirm they have authority to bind it. Each sale carries its own terms, accepted when you register for it, and some require a deposit, which is set out in that catalogue. Bidding is timed rather than live: every auction has a published closing time, and a bid in the final three minutes pushes the close back another three minutes. Payment is due immediately on winning, with buyers expected to settle within 48 hours, by bank transfer or debit/credit card. Cash is not accepted. Collection is normally within seven days of the close unless the auction states otherwise.

What to check before you bid

The buyer's premium is not fixed. BPI's own fee calculator lists bands of 5, 10, 14, 15, 18, 20, 23 and 25%, set per auction, and VAT is normally charged on the hammer price and on the premium unless a lot is marked otherwise, so a £1,000 bid at 20% can total £1,440. Everything is sold as seen and subject to any faults; viewing and inspection are offered and worth using, because the catalogue description is all you get. Missing the collection deadline is expensive: storage runs at £25 a day for standard assets (small hand-held items are assessed case by case), £100 for cars, vans and motorcycles, £150 for plant, machinery and other large items and £200 for HGVs and larger vehicles, plus VAT, payable in full before release. Dismantling, disconnection and removal are at your cost. Lots sit at the vendor's own site as often as at BPI's Wakefield warehouse, across York, Pontefract, Sheffield, Newcastle and elsewhere, so the collection address comes from the individual auction and vendor sites keep their own hours; shipping is only arranged from BPI's own Wakefield premises. Buyers outside the UK are directed to NMT International Shipping UK Ltd, a separate company offering RoRo export; get a quote before bidding. A VAT refund on export requires proof of payment from overseas, proof of export and an overseas address.