Iain Smith Auctioneers have risen from the ashes of a blaze which destroyed their long-time business base at Perth Airport.
Their new split-level auction hall in a vast hangar 100 yards from the rubble is one of the biggest under-one-roof in Scotland.
A record 2000-plus lots will go under the hammer at the inaugural three-day sale from January 26 to 28, 25 years after the firm established by auctioneer Iain Smith relocated from the Fair City when local businessman Morris Leslie acquired the airport near Scone.
Dunning -born Mr Smith learned his trade selling everything from pigs to property for one-time Fair City companies Hay’s and Macdonald Fraser.
The one-time Perth High School pupil refused to let a combination of the fire and the pandemic destroy his life’s work.
“This is a major milestone after operating from temporary premises in the aftermath of the blaze,” said Mr Smith.
“I’ll never forget watching firefighters battling in vain to save the original auction hall and everything I had worked for since starting-up with a £3000 loan from an auntie.
“It was even more distressing when we learned the fire had been started deliberately, in a vain attempt to cover the tracks of a robbery targeting valuable pieces of gold and jewellery the night before what would have been our biggest ever sale.
“Thanks to fantastic support from Morris, we were up and running from alternative premises within a matter of weeks and we leapt at the opportunity to move into a unit which is around five times bigger.
“We have been very fortunate post-lockdown. I know many businesses have suffered badly but an online presence has meant we have been getting busier and busier.
“Business has trebled over the last two years so we desperately needed the bigger auction room. It’s ideal given the scale of auctions taking place every three weeks.
“We now have nine full-time staff, with four of our porters enjoying more than 80 years’ experience between them.
“We are all looking forward to the first of our regular three-day sales, with most of the 37,000 square feet of floorspace already filled.”
Mr Smith (58) handles everything from country and town house clearances to sales of engineering and garden machinery from central Scotland to Aberdeenshire.
His auctions regularly attract buyers from across Europe, USA, China and Australia.
“It never fails to amaze me what can be turned up during a house clearance. It can be quite exciting,” he said.
“I recall selling a spectacular seven-foot carved oak eagle after clearing the abbey at Fort Augustus. It went under the hammer for £10,500.
“Sometimes you unpack items which have made several house moves, still wrapped in yellowing newspapers dating back to the 1950s or earlier.
“There are always surprises. One recent sale saw a Yorkshire collector travel north to make sure he secured Robert “Mouseman” Thomson’s oak carvings of a barn owl and hawk. Those fetched £8500.
“Among the more unusual items going under the hammer next week are a letter sent by courier for a payment of 240 francs signed by Napoleon Bonaparte and a Chinese wedding sleigh.
“These are firsts for me and we are anticipating four-figure bids for them from home and abroad.”
