The Challenge

Arc Energy Resources Ltd were an internationally regarded company specialising in the development of clad welding systems and products. They had assets spread across three separate units, which included welding robots, rotary tig welding systems and associated stock, positioners, engineering and factory equipment, forklifts, and motor vehicles.

Their liquidators, Monahans, instructed Lambert Smith Hampton to attend at the premises and provide a formal red book valuation of the assets. This included assets owned by the company, and assets owned by various finance companies. As ARC Energy Resources were ceasing to trade, our presence on site had to be carefully managed. It was Lambert Smith Hampton’s initial duty to establish what assets were located on site and arrange the necessary security / locksmith etc. 

Following our initial inspection, we were tasked undertaking a marketing and disposal campaign of the assets over an 8 week period, while making sure that the site was left in a clean state to be returned to the Landlord.

Our Solution

Following an inspection of the premises on day one, we were immediately instructed to arrange for locksmiths to attend and secure the sites. 

It became public knowledge that the company was ceasing to trade, which led to us receiving numerous phone calls from third parties wishing to recover their assets. This included suppliers with stock provided and subject to retention of title clauses, and customers who had paid for work and required collections, final payments and supporting certification documents would be needed as proof of ownership. Lambert Smith Hampton managed the process by working with the client to ensure that customers, where entitled, could recover their assets, and subsequent sales undertaken to customers where funds had not yet been exchanged.

Once all third-party assets had been processed a full marketing campaign could be established in order to realise the assets within an 8 week period. We did this via both private treaty and online auction sales. A targeted marketing campaign to associated trade press, targeted mailshots to the industry, online platforms, and local press ensured maximum exposure of the assets to the market. 

The Results

The online auction gained significant interest, receiving over 37,000 page views and over 200 registered bidders. Out of these, we had 85 winning bidders, with over 6,000 bids being placed including exporters from Poland, France and Ireland.  The auction achieved the following results:

Some key sale highlights include:

• PEC rotary head twin arc tig welding system - £25,000 – sold via private treaty
• Fanuc Robot Arc Mate 120iC welding robot - £20,000 – sold via private treaty
• Prosaw UE-460DSAE semi auto bandsaw - £7,600 – sold via online auction
• BT Rolatruc CBE 45 electric dual mast forklift truck - £7,800 – sold via online auction

Lambert Smith Hampton ensured the premises were returned to the Landlord in a safe and clear state. We followed our strict Health & Safety guidelines to ensure an orderly and safe clearance process. This included having approved risk assessments and method statements (RAMS) and certified disconnections. We also made sure that remaining assets were removed by waste recycling specialists, and environmentally certified chemical disposal arrangements were made. Paperwork was destroyed in compliance with GDPR.

This was a complicated instruction that resulted in an excellent outcome for the client. The professional and expertly managed sales process gained a high level of interest maximising asset values in order to provide creditors with the best possible outcome.