Euro Auctions mark 20 years of success

Company celebrates two decades that have seen turnover grow from under £1 million to more than £400 million

THIS year Euro Auctions celebrate 20 successful years in operation, during which time they have grown to become a global leader for the resale of used and ‘as new’ industrial plant and construction machinery.

The company’s first ‘one-day’ sale was held in Dromore, Northern Ireland, on the same site that is now Euro Auctions’ global headquarters. That day a total of 371 vehicle and equipment lots went under the hammer, achieving a total sales figure of approaching £1 million.

The ensuing years have seen huge expansion in terms of locations and staffing, creating a globally recognized brand that is continuing to go from strength to strength.

‘When we embarked on this adventure we never envisaged the impact we’d have on the global equipment market,’ said Derek Keys, founder of the business.

‘So far, we’ve been instrumental in selling equipment worth many billions in value with the single biggest items to go under our hammer being a couple of 220-tonne all-terrain Tadano cranes, previously operated by Hewden Stuart, that each went for £725,000 in Spring 2017 as part of an epic one-day, £32 million disposal sale.

‘We’ve also sold numerous lots at under £1,000 each, so there is always something for everybody at our auctions.’

Today, Euro Auctions host around 60 key auctions a year and operate from 10 sales sites in seven countries on four continents around the globe. Collectively, the company now auctions more than 75,000 lots each year, consigned by more than 6,000 regular vendors.

Thanks to sustained corporate marketing initiatives, each auction reaches a global audience of more than 150,000 potential buyers, one in five of whom actively register as bidders, with more than 10,000 actually taking delivery of one or more consignments. This results in an annual global turnover in excess of £400 million.

Euro Auctions’ operations manager, Jonnie Keys, said: ‘We’ve seen growth and increased interest over the past 12 months across all businesses around the globe with brisk trading, particularly online, being recorded, plus year-on-year growth at our flagship UK site in Leeds, which saw a record breaking £42 million hammer achieved in April.