Auction to be held to sell off Hawk Plant assets

The auction will take place at Hawk Plant's main site in Prees Green, near Whitchurch, on March 14 and 15.

Euro Auctions has been appointed by joint administrators Sam Woodward, Alex Williams and Hunter Kelly of EY’s restructuring team to dispose of the general construction equipment after Hawk Plant entered administration on January 14.

Euro Auctions has been working closely with the joint administrators since the appointment to locate, catalogue and assess all assets of the business, tracking construction equipment and in many cases assisting in repatriating them to secure locations.

Hawk called in EY following a cashflow squeeze, leading to the loss of 80 jobs and putting another 340 under threat.

South-west based Plantforce has agreed to step in and take on more than 100 plant operators and their machines on one of Europe’s largest construction sites.

But the future of the remaining Hawk Plant staff remains unclear.

Joint administrator Mr Williams said: “We are working with Euro Auctions on the disposal of the construction machinery assets of Hawk Plant Hire over the coming months and look forward to a close working relationship."

The inventory will include excavators, articulated dump trucks, dozers, rollers, telehandlers, backhoes, mini excavators, and other popular machinery. Special interest is expected in a large consignment of 2016 to 2018 John Deere agricultural tractors and associated trailers, implements and ancillary items, many of which are still in warranty.

The first day of the auction will deal with the sale of tractors, telehandlers and light plant assets, while the second day will be devoted to heavy plant machinery.

The assets are between around one to three years old, and are mostly leased equipment with complete maintenance and service history.

David Betts, for Euro Auctions, added: “We are delighted to have been selected by the joint administrators to work with them and advise on this project. Euro Auctions has extensive experience in conducting off-site disposal sales. Through our global network of buyers and consignors we will be marketing to a specialist audience that has interest in the wide array of general construction machinery, which has mass global appeal.

“All the equipment going under the hammer has been exceptionally well maintained and we expect interest to be strong. As with all our sales everything will be sold without reserve which results in competitive bidding."

Further details and catalogues for the various Hawk Plant disposal sales will be available on the Euro Auctions website at euroauctions.com