Auctions fall into four categories according to their size:
•Large composite
•Medium composite
•Smaller composite
•Single lot.
Table 1.1 lists the relative sizes, the number of lots to expect, the size of the audience and where they may be held. A composite auction is one where a collection of different types of property are sold at the same auction.
Table 1.1 Size of auctions
Number of lots
Likely audience
Likely venue
Large composite
100+
300+
Hotel/conference centre, theatre, meeting rooms
Medium composite
5-100
200-500
Hotel/conference centre
Smaller composite
2-5
10-100
Hotel, church hall, pub, restaurant, sale room
Single lot
1
10-75
Hotel, church hall, pub, restaurant
Large Properties
Over the last 20 years there has been a move towards large and composite auctions, run not only in London, but also in the larger financial cities outside the capital. The auctions are generally run by one auction house although, on occasion, several firms may co-operate. These composite auctions run frequently on a regular published calendar and may contain up to 50 lots offered in just a morning or an afternoon right through to 300 or 400 lots offered over several days.
The sales may be restricted to a special type of property, for example vacant possession houses, residential investments, retail investments, commercial investments, shops, factories, warehouses or land, or a blend of any or all of these types. Where there is a mixture, the different categories of property tend to be offered in consecutive lots sometimes with intervals between the various categories.
Advantages of composite auctions
Bringing together a number of lots in a composite auction produces economies of scale for the auction house. But from the seller's point of view a composite auction frequently generates more interest, a larger audience, more extensive marketing and generally a cheaper entry cost. If you are attending an auction for the first time, the scope of the catalogue
of lots from a single geographical region covered by the auction house. This can be a suburb where the auctioneers specialise or a regional city such as Birmingham. Manchester, Liverpool or Edinburgh where there is a source of mixed lots available, but insufficient lots on offer at regular intervals to produce larger composite auctions.
This size of sale can still produce an audience of between 200 and 500 people depending upon the popularity of the lots being offered and the amount of marketing that has taken place. Therefore the auctioneers will need to choose a venue similar to that necessary for large composite auctions with facilities.
of lots from a single geographical region covered by the auction house. This can be a suburb where the auctioneers specialise or a regional city such as Birmingham. Manchester, Liverpool or Edinburgh where there is a source of mixed lots available, but insufficient lots on offer at regular intervals to produce larger composite auctions.
This size of sale can still produce an audience of between 200 and 500 people depending upon the popularity of the lots being offered and the amount of marketing that has taken place. Therefore the auctioneers will need to choose a venue similar to that necessary for large composite auctions with facilities.