During the summer of 2013, Golding Young & Mawer were approached by the outgoing owners of Holywell Hall, near Stamford to dispose of antiques, works of art and modern furnishings, and the executors for the Goffin estate in Grantham to dispose of the farm contents including general household items, cars and farm equipment.
This involved hosting two on-site sales within 5 days of each other. One at Londonthorpe for the Goffin estate and one at Holywell Hall, near Stamford.
Valuation & Clearance
With two onsite sales planned so close together the various teams met on several occasions to plan the set-up, staffing and logistics involved. With the tight timescales, the clearance and removal of the items from both properties needed to be precise and very organised.
Detailed assessments were undertaken at both sites by the RICS regulated valuation team. They determined the items that were to remain within the property, and those that would be taken to one of the company's three salerooms for entry into the general sales.
This information was passed over to the transport department headed up by Andrew Lowes. Andrew visited both sites to assess any challenges in clearing the property. Andrew looks for ease of access to the property, if any furniture requires dismantling before removal, or to organize removal of items through windows.
Once completed, Andrew and his team of six porters proceeded to clear the properties. They started by clearing and sorting the contents of cupboards and furniture. There are often large volumes of paperwork to sort through which can be time consuming. Any family photos and other personal documents in the property were put to one side and handed over to the client or the solicitor. They then proceeded to remove any furniture or other effects as indicated by the valuation team, with a fleet of three 3.5 tonne vans. Any items that were classed as unsaleable, Andrew's team organised recycling.
Onsite
Andrew and his team of porters were onsite to help with the sales. They ensured all items were carefully removed from the property once sold.
Outcome
Both sales were well attended and attracted online registered bidders. Andrew's team removed over 14 van loads of items from the two properties before the sale, within a period of 7 days. After the on-site sales they oversaw the removal of over 700 lots.
