John Pye & Sons was founded by John and Ann Pye in 1968 as a partnership named ‘Furniture & General Auctions’ at Nottingham’s old Cattle Market site. For two decades, the company specialized in managing probate house clearances, cessation of business asset disposals and private chattels.

In 1990, the company was incorporated as ‘John Pye & Sons Limited’ and relocated to larger premises at Banton House, Meadow Lane, near Notts County Football ground to expand its client base in the East Midlands. As the business grew during the 1990’s UK recession period, John Pye & Sons acquired the old Shipstone’s ‘Star’ Brewery site in 1995, providing a huge base to expand from.

Developing New Markets

Although initially a regional auction house operating from one site, John Pye & Sons saw an opportunity in what was a fragmented, niche market. It launched a development program in 2003 to establish itself as the UK’s leading brand name in auctions for the public to purchase everyday items at bargain prices. The company engaged with retail PLCs to offer more everyday offerings at auction, such as electronics and home and garden stock. These consumer focussed items now make up over 60% of our client portfolio.

John Pye & Sons continued its expansion into new asset and market sectors to widen both client and buyer bases and avoid overexposure to one market type. Today, John Pye & Sons is primarily a B2B business for vendors of stock and assets and a B2B and B2C business for end users.

Digital Era and Expansion

The company’s first shift in 2007, from live traditional auctions to 24-hour timed online auctions has resulted in a significant increase in end users, all of which have access to our auctions from anywhere in the world.

In 2023, this evolution led to a peak of over 2,900,000 monthly website visits and with more than 800,000 active bidding accounts accessing over 60 online and physical salerooms, we are committed to further enhancing and expanding upon these achievements. This increased vendor and customer base is supported by our network of premises with five UK sites and our first mainland Europe site in Zaragoza, Spain. We currently have over 1,000,000 square feet of secure, indoor sales space to support the needs of our vendors which means they can free up valuable storage space and in turn release revenue from their surplus items.

We now operate several departments with specialised knowledge and relevant skills to provide a range of services for different sectors, including valuations and logistics support. We understand the requirements of our clients and the preferences of the target market of end users.