LSH to hold first NW auction in November

Lambert Smith Hampton will continue to hold regional auctions following its acquisition of Colliers' auction team, with one taking place at Haydock Park Racecourse on Tuesday 16 November.

Colliers has in recent years held spring and autumn sales in the North West. Roger Tunnicliffe, head of LSH Manchester, said: "There will always be instances where an auction makes sense as part of the overall disposal strategy, particularly in the current climate when vendors are looking to offload assets in the least time possible.

"Bringing the auction team on board means that we can now provide a one-stop-shop disposal service tailored to meet the individual needs of our clients."

The Colliers International team that moved to LSH recently consists of Simon Riggall, auctioneer, Richard Argles and Graham Johnston. It has a client base drawn largely from the public sector, private and institutional investors and the insolvency sector.

Ezra Nahome, LSH's CEO, said: "To bring in an experienced and reputable auction team is a great opportunity for us. It is a natural fit with our national platform and provides our clients with another important route to market."

The auction team has a strong presence in the public sector having sold for over 150 local authorities and over 60 government bodies, with sales over the last six years raising over £930m.

Traditionally, the North West has been dominated by local players such as Pugh & Co, Edward Mellor and Sutton Kersh.

Nahome continued: "The public sector is highly active at present and, given that 25% of our revenue is derived from this sector, the auction team will provide an important service to our clients. In addition, the recovery sector has not as yet seen material sales of smaller lot properties, ideal for the auction market. We expect this to change over the next twelve months."

Simon Riggall said: "After discussions with several firms, we chose to join LSH because its extensive national network and capabilities provides the perfect platform upon which to base our national auction service. In addition to London, a large scope of our work is carried out in the regions; LSH's 27 office locations around the UK and Ireland is the ideal service delivery business model for our national and local requirements."