What gets decided in the first few weeks is the difference between selling well and selling badly.
When a plant closes or a line is replaced, the machinery stops being a productive asset and becomes a problem with a deadline. And that is where the risk sits: the value of industrial equipment does not fall with age nearly as fast as it falls with haste.
This guide sets out how to organise a sale of this kind: what is worth selling individually, what as a lot, in what order, and what timescales are realistic.
Leaving it to the end. It is the usual pattern: first the employment side, then the contracts, then the lease on the building, and the machinery is left for the final month. By the time that month arrives there is no room to negotiate, and the buyer knows it.
The difference between selling with six months ahead of you and selling with three weeks can be half the money. If the closure is decided, the machinery should start moving at the same time as everything else, not afterwards.
As a rule, sell individually anything with a market of its own: recognised brands, recent equipment, machines any workshop in the sector could use. Sell as a lot what only makes sense together, what is highly specific to one process, and what is low in unit value.
The temptation to sell everything in one block to a single buyer is strong, because it solves the problem at a stroke. It is also the option that leaves the least money on the table: whoever buys a full lot buys to resell piece by piece, and you are handing them that margin.
A middle route works well: take the five or six machines that hold most of the value to market individually first, and offer the rest as a lot once those are placed.
That last figure shapes the whole operation, and it is the one most often hidden for fear of weakening the position. Say it: a buyer who knows the deadline can organise around it; one who finds out late walks away.
The liquid and the expensive first, because that is where the money is and where time costs most. Then the specialised, which needs to find the particular buyer who uses it. And last the closing lot with whatever remains, priced realistically by then.
One important exception: if a machine is essential for dismantling or moving the others, it sells last however much demand there is. More than one closure has come unstuck by selling the overhead crane early.
An auction is fast, transparent and has a fixed date, which helps when the deadline rules. In exchange, the price is whatever the room decides that day, and it can fall short if turnout is thin or the lot is poorly presented.
A negotiated sale usually returns more per machine, especially on good equipment, but gives no guarantee of when it closes. In many closures the sensible answer is both: negotiated for the valuable items, auction or lot for the rest.
Having these answers in writing before you publish speeds up a sale more than any price cut. A serious buyer drops anything they cannot assess.
It is the line item that causes the most argument, and the one to settle before agreeing a price, not after. The buyer normally takes it on, because they decide how they want the machine delivered, but that has to be stated from the listing onwards.
If the building has shared services — compressed air, vacuum, extraction, common electrical panels — define where the machine ends and the building installation begins. It is a short sentence that avoids a long dispute.
Preparing the inventory and documentation: one to three weeks, depending on size. Going to market and generating serious conversations: two to six weeks. Closing an individual sale with inspection and transport: another three to eight weeks.
That is two to four months for a mid-sized plant, if you start in time. Anything compressed below that is paid for in price.
If you want to know what the whole set is worth today, that is a market valuation. To prepare each listing you will need the nameplate and the usage data, and moving what you sell is covered in transport and logistics. When you are ready, the first step is to put it up for sale.
This guide reflects common practice in the sector and does not constitute legal, tax or insolvency advice. In closures involving court proceedings or creditors, timescales and decisions depend on the procedure and should be discussed with the professionals handling it.