A Fetching Year for Auctions

There is no denying that this year brought as many challenges as 2020. A persistent pandemic and an undulating economy left businesses and trusts with a need to realise capital tied up in assets fast and efficiently. Park Village Auctions was instructed to assist on such matters to fetch handsome prices on their clients’ behalf.

According to Clive Lazarus, Director and Head Auctioneer of PVA, the success of an auction relies on the sum of its parts—and the nature of said parts. He says that these factors (among many others) determine the auction structure and format.

Clive, “Even when lockdown restrictions allow in-person on-site auctions, one must not ignore other options like invitations to submit offers, webcast, simulcast or timed online auctions.   

“There has been a massive uptake in online auctions. But, that’s not to say that conventional auction formats are redundant. We find that buyers enjoy the familiarity of a traditional format, which also lends itself to thrilling competitive bidding!

“A good auctioneer will help to steer their client in the right direction. At the end of the day, whatever the type of auction, it must work to fetch the highest price per lot item possible—particularly with high-value assets. Remember, bidders have their eyes on specific items, not necessarily the entire contents of a sale. The auctioneer must read the situation and steer accordingly.”

To best illustrate the value that auctions achieve, Clive shared some noteworthy lot sales from 2021. All prices represent what was realised on the fall of the hammer and therefore exclude VAT and commissions.

• A 16223 ha, zoned “industrial 3”, A-Grade commercial property fetched upwards of R10 000 000,00
• A Kigeung Mimax bridge type CNC machining centre boring machine tipped R2 000 000,00
• A 2017 MAN HB3 18-350 65-seater bus and a 2018 Scania K460IB 57-seater bus, each sold for over R1 000 000,00
• A 2020 Powerstar 2628 VX rear tipper rigid truck sold for just over R500 000,00
• A Volvo 413 KVA generator fetched a market-related R365 000,00
• An AIR-O-CURE 250kva generator cleared the R200 000,00 mark
• A Rotor 500 Compressor and Quality Air Dryer fetched more than R75 000,00

For this knowledge gained over four decades, PVA is called on by leading financial institutions, business rescue practitioners, liquidators and family trusts for premium asset disposal. Not surprisingly, private individuals are following suit with voluntary auctions.  

“Gone are the days when auctions were viewed merely as a forced mechanism for recouping bad debt. Today, organisations can freely choose to sell their assets at auction given the inherent benefits associated with this method of selling,” Clive concludes.