What is the Nationwide Disposals Agency?

The Nationwide Disposals Agency (NDA) is a totally new concept in the UK secondary market. The NDA's incorporation as a Limited company in Jan 2009 is the culmination of four years of preparatory work undertaken by some of the UK’s largest commercial auction houses to establish a new organisation, the size and reach of which has never been seen before in the UK disposals market.

What has it got to offer?

What sets the NDA apart from any other commercial entity in the market place is it’s logistical infrastructure. Behind the NDA’s registered office at Canary Wharf (pictured above right) are some seventeen tangible asset facilities located throughout England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

These asset facilities are long established trading auction houses with more than 1,000 years of commercial history between them. The NDA members occupying these facilities have established footholds across UK & overseas disposals markets.

What markets does the NDA reach?

These markets range from plant & machinery through to retail, vehicles, property, fine art and antiques and marine assets. Our clients range from UK PLCs, Banks and Finance Houses to central Government departments. The NDA holds more tangible auctions in the UK than any other competitor and such frequent sales activity at the ‘coal face’ of the UK secondary market generates valuable data and liquidity for clients.

How is it different?

With such logistical infrastructure to call upon, the NDA can provide competitive advantage by utilizing its members’ property portfolios to relocate assets and stock to allow for wider disposal mechanisms. Such logistics allow for greater marketing lead times and preparation of sale, in order to generate wider interest in offerings thus helping to achieve optimum realisations.

These preferred disposal routes provide proven successes against alternative mechanisms of forced sales, which are often held in unrecognised sales facilities and restricting circumstances. Forced sales in unrecognised auction facilities can also often generate higher disbursement costs without providing any subsequent added value. Ultimately, costs can prove to be higher and recoveries lower. The NDA began its life as an umbrella organisation to serve a UK Government disposals contract but has been incorporated as a limited company to provide solutions across disposals markets in response to a number of general enquiries.

How does the NDA operate?

Up to now, the UK secondary market has been somewhat fragmented. Instructing clients have had to spend considerable time trying to identify suitable suppliers and best practice across a range of markets and disciplines. The NDA is a one stop shop, providing clients with a more cohesive overview and a range of options provided in a transparent manner.

One call to the NDA is all that is necessary to outline and action your disposals project. The NDA will do the rest by assessing your requirements, consulting with members and subsequently tailoring an option suitable to deliver results. The NDA is made up of leading UK auction houses and enforcement firms which have pooled resources to establish a national framework to serve instructions. The NDA Admin Office manages all enquiries and canvasses member firms for capability and suitability of every instruction, based on geographical location, availability, specialisms and infrastructure. The aim is to establish the most suitable member firm or firms to provide cost effective solutions to maximise value.

NDA Clients need not concern themselves with multi-site communication and tracking individual agents and sales developments on large scale national recovery cases. The NDA’s Operational Management works on behalf of clients to collate all necessary data centrally to provide an effective account review, saving you, the client, precious time and resources.

Whether you require a small site clearance in Scotland, repossession of a yacht on the south coast, a valuation of a printworks in Preston or stock or assets relocating from numerous sites in the UK or Ireland, the NDA can tailor a solution for your consideration.

- Dion Harrison F.R.I.C.S.,
Chairman of the Nationwide Disposals Agency