Firm reappointed as Sandwell’s retained auctioneer

The business, which has an office in West Brimwich, was first appointed by the local authority in May 2021, but the team driving the auction business has worked with the council for more than 19 years.

Gurpreet Bassi, chief executive of Bond Wolfe, said: “Our team has been responsible for submitting and winning every contract to act for them over this time.

“We will be selling their surplus property assets - anything from vacant residential properties, old office blocks, schools and development sites with or without planning permission.”

Bond Wolfe will also be instructed to sell properties via Sandwell’s empty homes scheme, if properties have been sitting empty for a prolonged period.

Bond Wolfe is also the appointed auctioneer for Birmingham City Council, Wolverhampton and Walsall councils and West Midlands Police.

The company recently successfully retained the contract for Birmingham City Council following a public tender.

Mr Bassi added: “We continue to work closely in partnership with our colleagues at Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council to assist in identifying assets with value that can best be realised via the auctions process, producing a result, one way or another, on the day.

“This provides transparency and is another step in helping the city to develop under-used assets into council tax revenue producing properties via the private sector, at no further cost to the taxpayer.”

Since 2005, Sandwell council has worked with the Bond Wolfe team to identify a wide range of properties suitable for disposal, ranging from office blocks and former educational facilities to development sites suitable for both residential and commercial uses.

Mr Bassi said: “We are the number one livestreamed auctioneer in the UK and the only leading auction house, in the UK top 10, to be based in the West Midlands.

“In 2023, we sold 963 properties from the 1,117 offered, raising over £150 million in sales and representing an 86 per cent success rate, the highest sales success rate of any of the leading auctioneers in the county.

“Already this year, we have sold over £49 million of properties by auction. Our head office is in Birmingham city centre, and we are also the only auctioneer in the country to have an office in Sandwell in West Bromwich High Street.

“We predominantly cover the Midlands, however we also sell properties across the UK and have a database of over 142,000 investors and property dealers with a global reach covering Europe, Hong Kong and Singapore to name a few.”

He said that Bond Wolfe’s historical connections to Sandwell were also a factor in its success.

“We are proud of our Black Country roots and what we bring to the community. Our staff are ingrained in and passionate about the region and gain a sense of achievement seeing the opportunities that the properties we sell bring to the area and in helping to shape the future landscape.

“We also believe in giving back to the West Midlands. We have a dedicated charity, the Bond Wolfe Charitable Trust, which has supported 550 charities in the region to include the funding and ongoing support of Sandwell Valley School.

There are 209 lots scheduled to go under the hammer at Bond Wolfe’s next auction which starts at 8.30am on May 16.