One of Britain’s largest land and property auctioneers is to launch a new venue as part of its expansion across south-west England.
Clive Emson Auctioneers will be hosting its inaugural regional sales at the UWE Bristol Exhibition and Conference Centre, Bristol, at 11am on Friday, June 15.
The company’s coverage is along the entire south coast of England, from Kent to Cornwall, with the latest operation covering Bristol and Bath and the surrounding areas along the M4/M5 corridors from Taunton up to Cheltenham and eastwards to Swindon.
Led by managing director James Emson, the firm is one of the top four auctioneers in the UK by way of value and volume of residential sales, and sixth overall.
Lots regularly generate headline news, from nuclear bunkers and sea forts to churches, clubs, pubs, former public toilets and historic properties, as well as the more usual homes under the hammer and which are often of keen interest to residents.
The firm says it is looking to supplement staff locally, with Graham Barton and Scott Gray, auctioneers for the West Country and regulars on the popular TV series Homes Under the Hammer, taking to the rostrum.
The Bristol auction takes place 18 months after Clive Emson set up the West Country operation from scratch, with demand outstripping supply.
Graham said: “We are confident there is an equally keen market in the M5/M4 corridors with the Cotswolds, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Swindon, Bristol and Bath – we tend to know what sells, which means clients’ time and money aren’t wasted.
“Buyers are more informed than ever and we’re seeing more and more ‘private’ people in the sale room because there is a good selection of owner-occupied and buy-to-let properties realistically priced as well as the more unusual lots from statutory bodies.
“Programmes such as Homes Under the Hammer have also heightened awareness of auction as a straight-forward method of buying.”
The firm says it looks forward to working closely with local estate and commercial property agents; an average of £500,000 every year is paid out in joint agent fees.
Graham spent many years as an auctioneer with Allen and Harris, Palmer Snell and Chappell and Matthews in and around Bristol before setting up the West Country operation of Clive Emson with Scott; last year they reportedly sold more property and land by auction than any other firm in the West of England.
Entries for the first Bristol auction close on May 11.
Graham and Scott are based at the firm’s regional nerve centre, West Country House in Kew Court, Pynes Hill, Exeter.
Bidders at the first of Clive Emson’s seven series of auctions for this year, attended by 3,000 people, spent £18.5m, with 87% of lots sold.
The Bristol auction is one of five in a week. Held on separate days, the others are in Brighton, Southampton, Plymouth and Maidstone.
Clive Emson was recently awarded residential auctioneer of the year by The Negotiator, a leading magazine for the estate agency industry.
