Spicerhaart shuts Must be Sold auction arm with immediate effect

Must be Sold, Spicerhaart’s auction wing, has been abruptly closed down in England after a fall in business.

A notice on the Must be Sold website says only: “A new haart Auctions website is launching soon!”

The business, a joint venture with midlands auctioneer Graham Penny, will still be run in Wales by Spicerhaart, where it will be rebranded.

Must be Sold was started in 2008 and as its name suggests, specialises in properties ‘that must be sold’. It was running up to ten distressed property auctions a year in London, with others in Cardiff.

The closure comes after Essential Information Group, which monitors all property auctions in the UK, noted a drop in residential lots and said that auctioneers were reporting difficulty in getting stock.

EIG managing director David Sandeman reported a 12.5% drop in residential lots during May and a 5% drop in sales.

He said: “We are hearing anecdotally from auctioneers that stock is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain for auction.”

According to Graham Penny, there is less distressed stock around and more of it is being sold through private treaty.

In a statement, Spicerhaart said it had “refocused its auction operations, Must be Sold”.

It confirmed a reduction in volumes, but said it will continue to run auctions in Wales. Must be Sold in Wales will trade with immediate effect under the new name of Darlows Auctions.

Paul Smith, CEO of Spicerhaart, said: “Must be Sold’s English operations have recently experienced a reduction in property auction volumes.

“As a result, we have taken the decision to withdraw the Must be Sold auction offering in England with immediate effect and channel our efforts and resources on the Welsh market where trading remains buoyant.”