Euro Auctions sale hit by concerns over UK monoploy

THE ten-figure sale of Euro Auctions to a Canadian asset management company is under review by the competition authorities, and their decision could potentially block the deal.

In the summer of last year, Gardrum Holdings, the controlling group behind the Dromore firm, struck a deal worth £775m ($1.08bn) with Vancouver’s Ritchie Bros for the transfer of one Ireland’s biggest companies.

But things took a turn on Tuesday when the Competition and Markets Authority confirmed that they would be intensifying their investigation into this merger which would, if successful, bring two of the most powerful construction machinery auction houses together.

The danger is one of monopoly; a successful deal would bring more than 90 per-cent of the UK market for construction machinery auctioneering under the ownership of the Canadian kingpins.

Based on present information, the Competition and Markets Authority fear that such extensive control of the market may result in a lack of competition within the UK.

In a statement the Competition and Markets Authority said, “This merger will be referred for an in-depth investigation unless Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Incorporated offers acceptable undertakings to address these competition concerns.”

This leaves Ritchie Bros with only days to lodge a satisfactory proposal with the Competition and Markets Authority, because if, by Friday, they failed to do so, phase two of the investigation will commence.

Discussions regarding whether transport and agriculture should be considered part of the market in question also took place within the Competition and Markets Authority, but it was ultimately decided they should not.

Euro Auctions, although having its roots in Dromore, also lays claim to operations across the globe, in Europe, USA, Dubai and Australia.

Founded in 1998 by the Keys brothers, in 2020, revenues rose by 1 per-cent to £145.6m, while pre-tax profits rocketed by 14 per-cent to £28.7m.

In 2020 Euro Auctions conducted 60 auctions, flogging 90,000 items to the tune of £484 million across its nine locations, including Tyrone.