Trans Executive

Trans Executive is a Walloon auction house working out of Rebaix, just outside Ath, and it has been at it for twenty-five years. Its own figures are modest and specific: 150 to 200 lots a month, of which more than fifty are vehicles. What makes it worth knowing is the mix — the catalogue is organised by Véhicules, Lots de faillite, Immeubles, Fonds de commerce and Gré à gré, so bankruptcy stock, property and whole trading businesses sit alongside the cars.

What you can buy

• Cars, vans and electric vehicles, plus trailers, motorcycles and the occasional written-off vehicle.
• Bankruptcy lots named after the failed business — a bakery's fit-out, a clothing and footwear stock, a builder's site equipment.
• Buildings.
• Fonds de commerce — a business sold as a going concern rather than broken into parts.
• Plant such as bulldozers and loaders.

How the bidding works

Sales run online with a published calendar (Calendrier des ventes) and a separate list of what is live now. Each bankruptcy lot carries an address and a viewing arrangement, because the goods stay at the failed company's premises. The Gré à gré section is different again: those are private-treaty sales at a negotiated price, not auctions.

What to check before you bid

Bankruptcy lots are sold from the debtor's site and you collect them from there, which for a bakery fit-out or a warehouse of stock is a logistics job rather than a car boot. The site is in French and Dutch. Registration is required before bidding, and the conditions page (Conditions) sets out the buyer's costs — read it before your first sale, because premiums on bankruptcy lots differ from vehicle sales at most Belgian houses.