Auctioneers Lacy Scott & Knight invest £350,000 in a growing auction business.
Bury St Edmunds Auctioneers Lacy Scott & Knight have invested more than £350,000 and extended and refurbished their auction rooms in the town.
The extension of almost 2500ft is made up of a reception and lobby, refurbished toilets, offices, client room, improved access and facilities for disabled clients, and large cataloguing area to allow specialists to prepare a wide variety of sales.
The extra space was needed to meet a growing business, said Ed Crichton, saleroom manager.
“Over the last 15 years, the sales calendar has grown from 19 sales per year, turning over approx. £1.25million, to over 30 sales which now gross close to £3million per annum”, he said.
“Following a consistent period of organic growth and the introduction of a number of niche sales including C20th Design and Coins & Medals, to augment the traditional Antiques and Fine Art sales and our mammoth Toy sales, it was essential that we were able to give our clients, both vendors and buyers, the high level of service which they had come to expect in an environment more suited to the 21st century”.
“Our client room gives the privacy needed when discussing delicate matters concerning an estate, or consigning high value items such as jewellery.
“The reception area is spacious and allows us to welcome a number of clients at any given time.
“We have also taken on two new team members to manage the reception desk and deal with the payment of accounts. The total investment in the building and refurbishing the existing salerooms has been in excess of £350,000.”
The architects were Brown & Scarlett of Bury St Edmunds, the project was in part financed by borrowing from Lloyds Bank in Bury St Edmunds, and was carried out by Hartog Hutton.
The premises will be officially opened by England and Ipswich Town legend Terry Butcher at a gala charity fundraising evening on June 7.
The new premises also coincide with changes to the sales calendar.
The traditional General Antiques & Collectables sales have been re-branded as Homes & Interiors sales to reflect the growing demand from both private buyers and interior designers for those quirky items which can often only be found at auction.
These busy three-weekly sales encompass all manner of items from traditional and modern furnishings, painted furniture, and a huge eclectic range of objects and collectables.
They will also be augmented by a specialist section of Victorian and later jewellery & watches, whilst those high-end pieces will still be included in the quarterly Fine Art & Antiques sales.
The first Homes & Interiors sale on May 13 will also host a visit of BBCs popular daytime show Antiques Road Trip, which will undoubtedly create an additional buzz in the saleroom, he added.
The experts coming to town are Paul Laidlaw and Kate Bliss.
Later in the year, LSK will be introducing bi-annual Country Pursuits sales to the calendar specialising in taxidermy, sporting prints, and all manner of effects related to hunting, shooting and fishing.
The first of these will take place on December 8.
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