What Carnew Mart does

Carnew Mart is a third-generation family-owned livestock auction mart based in Carnew, County Wicklow, Ireland. Founded in 1965, with the Quinn family involved in the livestock trade since the 1940s, the business conducts weekly cattle, sheep, and calf sales serving local and regional farmers across southeast Ireland. The mart operates a hybrid auction model combining traditional in-person bidding with remote online participation through the Livestock-Live platform, allowing buyers and sellers outside the immediate catchment to transact. Throughput is strongly seasonal, peaking at 800-1,000 calves per week during the March-April spring cycle, supplemented by year-round Saturday cattle sales and additional evening weanling sales that have grown year on year since their mid-1990s introduction.

The business earns revenue primarily through commissions on livestock transaction values, with additional income from ancillary services including restricted cattle sales, dispersal sales, haulage, valuations, land lettings, and online machinery auctions. Operational technology is deliberately light: a WordPress-based website, social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and the Livestock-Live partnership for online bidding. There is no proprietary software development, no AI or automation tooling, and no API-exposed platform. Headcount is in the 11-50 range, with several long-tenured staff, including employees with more than 40 years of service, reflecting the deep institutional and community knowledge that underpins the operation.

Beyond core livestock auctions, Carnew Mart has incrementally diversified into adjacent rural commerce: online machinery auctions extend the auction infrastructure beyond livestock, while land lettings and annual specialty pedigree and dispersal sales events deepen wallet share within the existing farming customer base. The customer base is a long tail of smallholder and family-farm operations with no large enterprise anchor accounts, and revenue is transactional rather than contracted. Strategic posture is best characterized as steady-state stewardship of a mature regional asset, supplemented by measured digital and product extensions.

Name

Carnew Mart

Legal name

Carnew Mart

Website

https://carnewmart.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Carnew Mart is a third-generation family-owned livestock auction mart in County Wicklow, Ireland, running weekly cattle, sheep, and calf sales alongside online bidding through the Livestock-Live platform. It serves regional farmers via a commission-based model, with ancillary haulage, valuation, machinery, and land-letting services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Livestock Auction Services

NAICS

Livestock Merchant Wholesalers (42452)

SIC

Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Beef Cattle Trading & Order Buying (Live Cattle) (AFAEABAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Beef Cattle Transport & Handling Services (AFAEABAJ)

Keywords

• Livestock auction services
• Cattle and sheep sales
• Online livestock bidding
• Agricultural marketplace
• Farm livestock procurement

Headquarters

HQ city

Carnew

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Livestock Auction Commissions: Commission-based revenue from cattle, sheep, and calf sales conducted in physical auction rings with online participation options. Operators charge fees for facilitating buyer-seller transactions at weekly and seasonal sales events.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Carnew Mart operates a livestock auction facility in County Wicklow, Ireland, conducting weekly ringside and online sales of cattle, sheep, and calves, with peak throughput of 800–1,000 calves per week in spring. It supplements auction services with calf collection, haulage, on-farm visits, dispersal sales, valuations, and marketing advice, and specializes in restricted cattle and evening weanling sales.

Product overview

Carnew Mart is a third-generation family-owned livestock and property business operating as a traditional auction mart in County Wicklow, Ireland. The company offers a multi-channel platform combining physical ringside auctions with online bidding capabilities. The core product portfolio centers on livestock sales: weekly cattle auctions (cow sales, general cattle sales), sheep sales, and specialized calf sales with enhanced welfare measures during peak spring seasons. Online auction access is provided through the livestock-live.com platform for cattle, livestock, and machinery. The business also offers supplementary services including calf collection, on-farm visits, dispersal sales, haulage, procurement, marketing advice, and valuations. Seasonal highlights include the Annual Donegal Mule Sale and Evening Weanling Sales (September-December), which Carnew Mart pioneered in Leinster in the mid-1990s.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cattle Sales Weekly cattle auctions for livestock farmers, including cow sales (Saturdays 9:30am) and general cattle sales (Saturdays 10:30am) held in Ring 1, available both ringside and online via Livestock-Live.
• Sheep Sales Weekly sheep auctions held every Thursday at 9:45am in Ring 1, available for farmers both ringside and online.
• Calf Sales Specialized weekly calf auctions held Saturdays at 12:00pm in Ring 2 with enhanced welfare measures, handling 800–1,000 calves per week during the March–April peak spring season, available ringside and online.
• Online Livestock Auctions Live online bidding platform accessed via Livestock-Live enabling remote farmer participation in cattle and sheep auctions at Carnew Mart in real time.
• Online Machinery Auctions Dedicated online auctions for agricultural machinery and equipment conducted via the livestock-live.com platform for Carnew Mart.
• Restricted Cattle Sales Specialized sale events for restricted cattle, an area of particular expertise for Carnew Mart for farmers requiring dedicated channels.
• Evening Weanling Sales Seasonal evening weanling auctions held September to December each year, pioneered in Leinster by David Quinn in the mid-1990s and now a major annual sales program.
• Annual Donegal Mule Sale Annual specialty sale event featuring approximately 400 hoggets and 900 ewe lambs held on select dates for sheep farmers in the region.
• Annual Weanling Show and Sale Annual weanling show and sale event sponsored by John Cullen Grain, held as a key seasonal sale in the mart's calendar.
• Calf Collection Service On-farm calf collection service for suppliers bringing livestock to Carnew Mart, reducing transport logistics for farmers.
• Dispersal/Reduction Sales Arranged dispersal or reduction sales conducted either on-farm or at Carnew Mart facilities for farmers winding down or restructuring herds.
• Haulage Services Transportation and haulage services for livestock logistics between farms and the mart.
• On-Farm Visits Arranged on-farm visits for consultation and livestock assessment services provided by the mart team.
• Valuations Professional livestock valuation services provided to farmers for sale planning and pricing decisions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Handles 800-1,000 calves per week during peak spring season

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Livestock-LivecoreTechnology or IntegrationOnline auction technology platform enabling remote participation in livestock sales. Allows buyers to bid in real-time during physical mart sales from any location.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Castleisland Mart: Livestock mart in County Kerry running weekly cattle and sheep sales. Comparable traditional auction mart model serving a different geographic region of Ireland.
• Bandon Mart: Livestock auction mart in County Cork, Ireland, operating weekly cattle and sheep sales. Comparable business model and product mix but serves a different regional catchment in southern Ireland.
• Ballinasloe Co-op Mart: Large livestock mart in County Galway with weekly cattle and sheep sales, including famous annual October fair. Comparable auction services for farmers but in the west of Ireland rather than the southeast.
• Mid Tipperary Mart (Templemore): Livestock auction mart in County Tipperary with weekly cattle and sheep sales. Comparable auction services and farmer customer profile, but located in the midlands.
• Carnaross Mart: Midlands-based Irish livestock mart conducting weekly cattle and sheep sales. Comparable traditional mart model but operating in a different regional catchment from Carnew.

Broad incumbents

• Kilkenny Mart (Cillin Hill): Larger multi-ring livestock auction complex in Kilkenny with broader schedule and stronger online platform presence. Comparable in core activity (livestock auctioning) but larger scale and wider catchment than Carnew Mart.

Direct peers

• Tullow Mart: Livestock auction mart in County Carlow, Ireland, conducting weekly cattle, sheep, and calf sales with online bidding. Directly comparable regional peer with similar commission-based revenue model and customer profile of local farmers.
• Enniscorthy Mart: County Wexford livestock mart operating weekly cattle and sheep auctions with online participation. Closely comparable single-site regional mart serving an adjacent agricultural catchment.
• Wexford Farmers Co-Operative Society Mart: Regional livestock auction mart in Wexford serving southeast Ireland with cattle, sheep, and calf sales. Comparable multi-ring traditional mart with overlapping farmer catchment in the southeast.

Others

• Livestock-Live: Online auction platform partner of Carnew Mart that powers digital bidding across multiple Irish marts. Functions as a technology/infrastructure provider rather than a direct competitor, but its network reach shapes competitive dynamics across regional marts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/carnew.mart.9
• Instagraminstagram.com/carnewmart
• TikToktiktok.com/@carnew.mart
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carnew-mart

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Carnew Mart