Cheffins reports sales of over £12.6 million in Q1 2019 throughout both the machinery sales at the dedicated site near Ely, and at on-farm auctions across the UK.
Gross sales for the first three months of this year at the Cambridge sale ground increased 11% to £11 million, and the onsite sales team saw four farm-based auctions gross £2.64 million (1,628 lots).
Stock levels at the Cambridge machinery sales were up by a third for the quarter (compared to Q1 2018) as sellers look to make the most of high prices achieved in the run up to Brexit.
“Brexit has brought with it a golden touch for second-hand machinery values over the past three years or so as overseas buyers look to pick up bargains and make the most of our weakening currency,” says Cheffins director Bill Pepper.
“The uncertainty over import and export tariffs once we finally do leave the EU has encouraged sellers to cash-in quickly and disperse of machinery early 2019 as the final Brexit deadline looms large. The result has been this enormous uplift in stock levels which is purely illustrative of the sentiment we have experienced since the start of this year.”
The top buyers throughout the first three months of this year at the Cambridge sale ground were once again led by the Irish, followed by Spanish, Polish, Bulgarian and Romanian. The highest-grossing lot for the period was £85,000 for a 2013 John Deere 8310R, followed by £80,000 for a 2015 Fendt 939 Profi tractor.
