Thimbleby & Shorland

What Thimbleby & Shorland does

Thimbleby & Shorland is an independent, privately-held auction house founded in 1901 and headquartered at 31 Great Knollys Street, Reading, operating from the historic Reading Cattle Market (itself founded by Royal Charter in 1850). The company conducts timed online auctions and live auction events across seven specialist categories: Plant & Equipment (with six on-site annual auctions), Antiques & Collectables, Motor Vehicles (including DVLA seized vehicles), Farm & Vintage machinery, Carriage & Harness (the world-famous Reading Carriage Sales with two annual events held since 1965), Hay & Straw, and Insolvency Services. Supporting services include Probate & Valuations, House Clearance, and on-site dispersal sales conducted at vendor premises nationwide. The underlying technology is the Bidpath online auction platform, which handles timed bidding with staggered lot closings and 5-minute anti-snipe extensions, accessed by a base of over 30,000 registered bidders.

The firm generates revenue through three primary streams: buyer's premiums charged on hammer prices (rates ranging from 3.5% to 15% plus VAT depending on category), tiered seller commissions (15% on the first £250, 10% on the next £500, 5% thereafter), and fixed fees for probate and valuation work (typically £300 + VAT). Customer segments are horizontally distributed across farmers and agricultural businesses, contractors and construction firms, banks/lenders and insolvency practitioners, government authorities (notably DVLA), executors and private individuals requiring probate services, and a globally distributed niche of carriage driving enthusiasts. Institutional clients include the DVLA, FAI Farms, N.B.E. Mountain, and various banks and insolvency practitioners.

The company is NAVA Propertymark Protected, giving it professional standards certification, insurance protection, and consumer redress pathways that are increasingly required for institutional mandates. Ownership is private and management-controlled, with no external investment, no parent company, and no funding rounds disclosed. The leadership team comprises Managing Director & Auctioneer Richard Dance, Director & Auctioneer Gary Townsend, and Director Rob Smith, supported by a team of approximately 12 named specialists across cataloguing, valuation, accounts, and administration. The go-to-market motion is event-driven, organized around scheduled auction calendars across multiple categories, with marketing primarily through the tsauction.co.uk website, email newsletters, an annual calendar, and e-shots to registered bidders.

Name

Thimbleby & Shorland

Legal name

Thimbleby Shorland Limited

Website

https://tsauction.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1901

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Thimbleby & Shorland is an independent Reading-based auction house, founded 1901, conducting timed online and live auctions across plant, antiques, motor vehicles, farm/vintage, carriages, hay/straw, and insolvency assets, with over 30,000 registered bidders and valuation services for probate, estate, and institutional clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Auction Services

NAICS

Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts (52592), Used Merchandise Retailers (459510), Farm and Garden Machinery and Equipment Merchant Wholesalers (42382), Offices of Real Estate Appraisers (53132)

akta.pro primary industry

Bankruptcy, Probate & Estate Property Auctions (BPAJAEAG)

Keywords

• Auction house services
• Plant machinery auctions
• Antique auctions
• Probate valuations
• Farm machinery auctions

Headquarters

HQ city

Reading

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Buyer's Premium: Commission charged to buyers on hammer price. Rates vary by auction type: 5% + VAT for standard auctions, 10% + VAT for livestock and smaller lots, 12.5% + VAT for contractors plant rings 1 and 2, 3.5% + VAT for ring 3, and 15% (inc. VAT) for carriage sales with minimum fees.
2. Seller Commission: Commission charged to sellers for auctioning their goods. Scale: 15% on first £250, 10% on next £500, 5% thereafter (minimum £2.50 per lot). Additional entry fees apply for unsold lots based on item category.
3. Valuation Services: Probate valuations for executors, solicitors and trustees charged at a flat fee of £300 + VAT for most small to medium sized properties. House clearance services also provided.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Thimbleby & Shorland is a Reading-based auction house running timed online and live auctions across plant machinery, antiques, carriages, motor vehicles, farm machinery, and hay & straw. It supplements saleroom activity with probate valuations, house clearance, and corporate asset disposal services for insolvency practitioners, banks, government bodies, private executors, and rural businesses.

Product overview

Thimbleby & Shorland is an independent auction house offering a portfolio of auction and valuation services across multiple specialist departments. The core offering consists of timed online auctions across seven main categories: Plant & Equipment (contractors' plant and tools with six annual on-site sales), Antiques & Collectables (including Fine Arts), Motor Vehicles (seized vehicles via their own online bidding platform), Farm & Vintage (agricultural machinery and vintage tractors), Carriage & Harness (the world-famous Reading Carriage Sales with two annual events), Hay & Straw (seasonal agricultural auctions), and Insolvency Services (asset valuation and disposal for practitioners). Supporting services include Probate & Valuations (full estate valuation and administration) and House Clearance (full property clearance). The company operates primarily as a timed online auction platform, with physical viewing days and utilizes the Bidpath bidding technology for online sales.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Antiques & Collectables Auction Regular auction of antiques and collectables sold on behalf of consignors to a registered bidder base of 30,000+ buyers, with provenance and condition presented in the catalogue.
• Plant & Equipment Auction Auction of used plant, machinery, and commercial equipment for contractors, lenders, and corporate vendors disposing of surplus or recovered assets.
• Carriage & Harness Auction Specialist auction of horse-drawn carriages, harness, and related equestrian antiques, supported by an international online bidder community.
• Motor Vehicle Auction Auction of cars and commercial vehicles, including disposals sourced from corporate clients and government bodies such as the DVLA.
• Farm & Vintage Auction Auction of farm machinery, vintage agricultural implements, and related equipment, held at Reading Cattle Market with on-site farm dispersal days.
• Hay & Straw Auction Auction service for lotting and selling hay and straw, serving the agricultural community around Reading.
• Insolvency & Asset Disposal Service Managed disposal of distressed or seized assets for insolvency practitioners, banks, lenders, and government bodies, including on-site dispersal sales and online auctions.
• Probate & Valuation Service Propertymark-recognised valuation reports for probate, estate, and private clients, with optional follow-on sale of contents via the auction house.
• House Clearance Service Full or partial clearance of household contents for executors, families, and property professionals, with items then routed through the auction sales channels.

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 25,000 carriages sold since the 1960s carriage sales began
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cheffins: Cambridge-based auctioneer offering plant & machinery, agricultural, antiques, and property auctions. Closest UK regional multi-category peer with comparable scale, on-site plant sales, and online bidding capability.
• Harrison & Hetherington (H&H Group): Northern UK auctioneers specialising in livestock, farm machinery, and plant equipment. Directly comparable in farm dispersals, agricultural valuations, and on-site machinery sales.
• John Pye Auctions: Multi-category UK auction house running timed online auctions for vehicles, plant, and assets. Comparable in platform-driven GTM and insolvency/asset disposal work.
• Wilsons Auctions: UK and Ireland-based auctioneer running insolvency, motor, plant, and asset disposal sales. Comparable in insolvency services and online timed-auction infrastructure.
• Peter Wilson Auctioneers: Northern Ireland-based auction house conducting antiques, fine art, and general goods sales. Comparable mid-sized regional UK/Ireland auctioneer profile.
• Anderson & Garland: North East UK auctioneers running antiques, fine art, and collectables timed online sales. Comparable regional multi-category model with live and online bidding.
• Dreweatts: Southern UK auction house specialising in antiques, fine art, and collectables via timed online auctions. Comparable in collectibles auction services and online bidding platform use.
• BPI Auctions: UK auctioneer specialising in industrial, construction plant, and commercial asset disposal. Directly comparable in contractors plant auctions and asset disposal services for businesses and insolvency practitioners.

Broad incumbents

• Bonhams: Global incumbent auction house covering fine art, antiques, motor cars, and collectibles. Provides overlapping capability in antiques and collectables auctions but operates at significantly larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• Sotheby's: Global incumbent covering fine art, luxury, and collectibles auctions. Adjacent in collectibles/antique auction services but not directly comparable in plant, farm, or insolvency categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Thimbleby & Shorland