Sale highlights: WH Bond machinery dispersal hits £11.9m
One of the biggest dispersal sales of agricultural and construction equipment this year took place in Cornwall last week, with more than 1,400 lots going under the hammer.
The reason for this major offloading of equipment was that Cornish farming family WH Bond has retired the plant hire and machinery sales sides of its business.
Tough trading conditions, coupled with uncertainty over Brexit, were cited as the main reasons for the decision and the firm has chosen to concentrate on its 800ha farm and contracting enterprise as well as timber sales.
See also: Sale report: Hawk Hire auction hits £29m
The heavens opened during the auction, but that did little to deter the bidders, particularly when a rare 1948 Caterpillar D7 crawler went up for sale
All lots were sold in a single sale conducted by Euro Auctions on 3 and 4 October, with total revenues totting up to a sizable £11.89m. All lots were sold to the highest bidder and there were no reserves.
In total, there were more than 200 agricultural lots, ranging from tractors and telehandlers to muck spreaders, cultivation kit and grassland equipment.
On top of that, there were 260 telehanders (many of which were construction spec), 130 excavators of various sizes, 80 dumpers and a huge selection of 4x4s, pickups and vans.
The rest of the lots were made up of a myriad of agricultural and construction ancillaries, including bowsers, cabins, trailers, mixers, buckets, general attachments and tools.
Below, we’ve picked out a few highlights.
Sale fees
All lots in the sale were subject to a buyer’s premium of 2.5%. We’ve published the ex-VAT hammer prices below, so these fees will need to be added in order to give the total the buyer paid.
Deutz-Fahr 9340 TTV
No fewer than 23 Deutz-Fahr tractors were put up for sale, most of which were 2016, 2017 or 2018 models. The biggest and highest-priced machine was a 316hp 9340 TTV, featuring a CVT transmission, front linkage and pto, autosteer-ready equipment and five spools. It was a 2016 model and had racked up 2,129 hours.
• Hammer price: £68,500
Deutz-Fahr 6155
A trio of low-hour 6155s were sold, two of which featured Deutz-branded Stoll loaders. The 2018 tractor, pictured, was fitted with a Profiline FZ50.1 loader, featured a 30×30 semi-powershift transmission and had clocked up 654 hours. It was sold to a UK buyer, but several of the other Deutz tractors went to the Netherlands and Denmark.
• Hammer price: £54,500
Fendt 936
Just one Fendt tractor stood out in the sea of Deutz green, which was a 2012 Fendt 936 on 6,591 hours. It was a high-spec Profi Plus 60kph model, but had been fitted with a new transmission when it was on 6,288 hours.
• Hammer price: £61,500
Caterpillar D7
Some of the most fervent bidding activity took place when WH Bond’s fully restored 1948 Caterpillar D7 crawler went up for sale. It came with a full set of original documents, as well as detailed pictures of the restoration. After a flurry of bids, it eventually sold to a UK buyer bidding over the internet.
• Hammer price: £36,000
Ford TW25 and 7810
A line-up of five classic Ford tractors went under the hammer, including a TW25 and a clean, low-hour 7810 Series 2. The TW25 was in decent working condition on 6,797 hours, while the mint 7810 had clocked just 1,700 hours and was on its original Goodyear tyres.
• TW25 hammer price: £13,500
• 7810 hammer price: £23,500
Porsche AP22 Vinyard
Part of WH Bond’s vintage sale collection included a pair of tractors featuring Porsche air-cooled diesel engines. The first was a Allgaiter Ap17, which sold for £4,500, and the second was a Porsche AP22 Vinyard that made double that figure.
• Hammer price: £9,000
New Holland T7.190
Just one New Holland nestled among the 36 tractor lots, which was a 2018 T7.190 Range Command on 1,105 hours.
• Hammer price: £51,500
John Deere 6145R
There was also a single John Deere offering, in the form of a 2016 model 6145R with an Auto Quad transmission, Quicke Q76 loader and 5,327 hours on the clock.
• Hammer price: £43,000
Vicon IXTrack B36
Bidders had their pick of a huge consignment of new and lightly used Vicon mowers, rakes, balers, fertiliser spreaders and sprayers. This included the unused IXTrack trailed machine, pictured, which featured a 3,600-litre tank, 24m booms, automatic boom-height control and came Isobus ready. According to the auctioneer, it usually commands a £57,000 asking price, but sold for considerably less.
• Hammer price: £30,000
K-Two Rodeo
A number of lightly used trailers were on offer, including the 31cu m K-Two Rodeo push-off trailer, pictured. It was a 2018 model, came with 10-stud commercial axles, a hydraulic tailgate and LED lights.
• Hammer price: £26,000
Pronar T700XL
Another tidy trailer was offered from Polish brand Pronar. The T700XL grain/silage trailer was a 2017 model with an 18t capacity, and came with a sprung drawbar, sprung axles, a hydraulic tailgate, air brakes and extensions.
• Hammer price: £11,500
Horsch Espress 3TD
There were a handful of drills on offer, including the compact 3m Horsch Express cultivator disc drill, pictured. It was a fairly tidy 2012 model and came complete with wheel-track eradicators, and Isobus-compatible electronics.
• Hammer price: £9,750
VW Amarok
A total of 16 pickups were put up for sale, including 13 Toyota Hiluxs and three VW Amaroks. The 2018 model featured was one of two V6 Highline models with a DSG transmission and full leather interior.
• Hammer price: £24,000
Toyota Hilux
Almost all of the Hilux pickups sold were 2017 and 2018 models, but there was a lone 2012 Invincible on offer. It was a manual model with cloth seats, sat-nav and Bluetooth hands-free.
• Hammer price: £11,500
