30.01.2017

Hewden cranes in unreserved auction

There will be 130 cranes from the fleet of UK rental company Hewden sold at an unreserved auction on Friday 3rd March at Newark Showground, Nottinghamshire.

The original plan was sell the cranes from the bankrupted company via tender, but now all of the cranes will be collected at the auction site which according to auctioneer Euro Auctions has generated “significant interest from around the globe with more bidders registering daily”.
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The sale should include some relatively young All Terrains

Largest of the cranes being auctioned are two 220 tonne Tadano All Terrains registered in 2016 which feature a 68 metre main boom and a 76 metre maximum lift height. There are a further 23, 100 tonne plus low hour cranes, 57 cranes in the 50 to 100 tonne bracket and 45 units from 30-50 tonnes. The crane sale will include a host of accessories such as ballast, test weights, slings, mats, chains and shackles.

“The quality of all the cranes and the range of models on offer are captivating prospective buyers and from the previous Hewden disposal sales that Euro Auctions has already conducted we know there will be massive interest in this inventory,” said Euro Auction’s Jonnie Keys. “We are beginning to register interest from bidders from every continent, including the biggest crane buyers in the industry and bidder interest is already brisk. This will be the biggest sale in crane history.”

Three one day general equipment sales have already been held this month in Redruth, Newton Abbot and Swansea which saw 700 ‘smaller item’ lots sold achieving a total hammer price of more than £4.1 million. Another general equipment auction will take place the day before the cranes on Thursday 2nd March at the same venue.

UK-based Hewden Stuart - one of the leading crane and telehandler rental companies - was placed in administration at the end of November last year. Administrator Ernst & Young commissioned Euro Auctions to sell its remaining assets including the cranes and telehandlers in a series of unreserved auctions.

Some equipment - such as the bulk of the aerial lift fleet - was sold to A-Plant in a pre-pack deal, while equipment at the Warrington and Bangor depots was acquired by Ashbrook Holdings, and the inventory at the Lewes depot taken by GAP. Nixon Hire purchased the Nottingham depot equipment and took on the relevant staff while Morris Leslie took Inverness, Whitehaven, Willenhall and Bedford.