Bond Wolfe Auctions, launched in January 2019, has been named Newcomer of the Year 2020 in a prestigious Midlands business awards ceremony.

In a virtual event streamed online, Bond Wolfe Auctions beat off competition from some of the region’s most exciting new ventures, to be singled out by the judging panel of TheBusinessDesk.com.

Gurpreet Bassi, chief executive of Bond Wolfe Auctions, said: “It has been an extraordinary 21 months for all of us.

“We launched with a small but highly experienced team and we were delighted when so many of our old friends and contacts in the auction world backed us and believed in the vision we had.”

In its first year, Bond Wolfe Auctions sold an impressive 654 lots out of 751 lots offered in six auctions, an average success rate of 87% that raised more than £81.4 million in sales.

This included an impressive 95% success rate in the December 2019 auction when 151 lots were sold from the 159 offered – the highest sales rate for a Midlands auction for 15 years.

Bond Wolfe Auctions started 2020 with a  bang when the first auction of the year in February 2020 set new records. Over £20 million was raised in sales and 203 lots sold out of the 213 offered on the day, representing an astonishing 96% sales success rate.

But when lockdown came, many in the industry feared for a sector that seemed to rely heavily on hot ballroom auction rooms with thousands attending to bid in person.

But Bond Wolfe Auctions roared back, introducing online streamed auctions which have proven an extraordinary success.

The 131 lot auction in June raised £17 million with an astonishing 98% success rate - breaking Bond Wolfe Auctions’ own record for the most successful Midlands auction ever.

Just four weeks later, Bond Wolfe Auctions held another online streamed auction with 161 out of 170 lots sold, for a success rate of 95%, raising over £16.3 million.

September followed in similar vein with a 95% success rate, selling 196 of the 207 lots offered for a total of £18,779,150.

And with just days to go before the next auction on Wednesday 28 October, and the December event still to come, Bond Wolfe Auctions has sold 685 lots raising £72.5 million in 2020, year to date.

During the past two years, the company has been appointed exclusive property auctioneers for Birmingham City Council, Wolverhampton City Council, Walsall Council and West Midlands Police. The Ministry of Justice,  Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and the Methodist Church have also instructed Bond Wolfe Auctions to sell lots on their behalf as well as banks, LPA receivers, solicitors and joint agents.

With auctions regularly topping 200 lots and the online streamed auctions lasting up to ten hours with over 25,000 people logging on to watch each auction live, Bond Wolfe Auctions has announced it will be holding commercial only auctions in the Spring of 2021.

Ian Tudor, managing director of Bond Wolfe Auctions, said: “The October catalogue contains the most commercial lots we have ever offered in one auction, and we are receiving more inquiries daily from vendors of commercial property who require the comfort of a guaranteed sale in order to plan and shape future business decisions, and this is leading to an increased number of commercial lots on offer by auction.”

Other awards achieved in 2019 and 2020 included Gurpreet Bassi winning the “Young Leader’” trophy at TheBusinessDesk’s West Midlands Leadership Awards in November and “Entrepreneur of the Year” at The Signature Awards 2020.