Last year, here are Auction News, we celebrated our sixty year history… six decades in which we embraced the digital revolution, moved into purpose-built premises and expanded from a one-man operation to a team of eleven. We pride ourselves on being a successful, family run, auction business and for that reason it’s important to us that we don’t forget where Auction News came from…

Our story began in 1958, when Derby-born entrepreneur Ronald Whitehurst set out to establish a company that he called Auction Guide and Auction News Services. Researching auctions in his local library, listing them in his weekly news sheet and sending it to a list of subscribers, Ron and his good friend, John Payne, realised they had struck on a gap in the market.

Years later, 1984 to be exact, current Managing Director and John’s son, Steve, took the business reigns with support from his then Father in Law, Wally Windsor, where the two men increased subscribers from a few hundred to over 1000 within a few years…

With Steve’s daughter Gemma joining the team as operations director in 2014, Auction News remains a family run business to this day with a loyal workforce in place, successfully promoting auctions better than ever in various forms of digital and print media to over 25,000 subscribers.

Our latest project is an exciting collaboration with Canamp’s Richard Paul, whose bidding software has revolutionised the auction industry over the last two decades. This means we will soon be offering auctioneers the opportunity to not only effectively market their auctions, but to sell their lots via the website too. The new software will cover all bases, giving auctioneers the ability to offer online bidding directly from the Auction News website or from their own site. A fully integrated financial and invoicing package will follow, providing auctioneers with the ultimate all-in-one online bidding and marketing solution.

With hard work, dedication, and a spirit of adventure that has so far passed through three generations, Auction News continues to go from strength to strength.