Auctioneers announces year-end results with £62 million-worth of machinery sold in last 12 months

  • Cheffins, which conducts the largest monthly sale of tractors and agricultural machinery in Europe, has announced its results for the last financial year (June 2022 – June 2023)

The firm has sold over £62 million-worth of machinery throughout the monthly collective auctions, on site sales and through the regular vintage sales.

Over 49,000 lots of machinery and associated items have been offered for sale by Cheffins, with results £10 million up on the previous financial year, which grossed £52 million by comparison. Sales were conducted to over 35 countries worldwide, with regular exports throughout the EU, the USA, Australia and north Africa. £34m-worth of sales were conducted through the Cheffins Cambridge Machinery Sales hosted at Sutton, near Ely.

In addition, Cheffins has hosted 32 on-site sales which have taken place throughout the UK on behalf of farmers, landowners and the trade. These have seen sales gross over £23m in total, with the highlight of the on-site calendar being the auction on behalf of Ripon Farm Services, which saw some 300 lots go under the hammer on behalf of one of the largest agricultural machinery and ground care dealerships in the UK. Hosted at Ripon Racecourse, the sale included 55 tractors, ten combine harvesters and a series of other grassland machinery, cultivation equipment and trailers. This was closely preceded by the major machinery auction on behalf of Wilson Farming Ltd in Lancashire which saw 150 high value lots sold for one of the country’s leading agricultural contracting businesses.

The Cheffins world-renowned vintage sales, hosted both at the Cheffins sale ground and on-site on behalf of collectors, grossed £5.5 million for the year, representing an uplift of £1.5 million against the previous year’s total of £4 million. Sales have seen some remarkable results, with highlights including the auction of over 900 vintage tractors, implements, spares and memorabilia which were offered as part of the AR Wilson Sale in Nottinghamshire, many of which sold for well into six figures.

Oliver Godfrey, Head of the Machinery Division at Cheffins comments:

“As part of our continued inward investment into the machinery division, we have upgraded to the ‘best in market’ of bidding platforms as well as recently purchasing a portable satellite system which provides robust internet connections, wherever we are in the UK, so that online buyers can bid with confidence across all of our sales. Online bidding has become increasingly prevalent in our markets, and with sales throughout EMEA and the USA, it has become imperative to be able to offer the best in class of software for our buyers.”

He continues:

“These figures go to show the insatiable demand for good quality second-hand machinery, as farmers, landowners and the trade continue to be affected by inflation and the rising costs and delayed delivery times for new machinery. Cheffins is continuing to be at the forefront of the second-hand market, helping clients end-to-end, both in purchasing machinery as well as disposing of unwanted or surplus kit. Cheffins is leading the second-hand machinery industry, accounting for more sales throughout the UK than any of its competitors and has become a critically important source for the farming industry. In spite of market fluctuations and the uncertainty around funding for UK farmers, Cheffins has continued to remain deeply connected to clients, and help provide the machinery needed for their operations.”

Related news:

Records broken at York Machinery sales