Bargain Hunt star opens Halls’ new Shrewsbury headquarters
Celebrity antiques expert Tim Wonnacott gave Halls’ new multi-million pound, state-of-the-art headquarters and fine art salerooms in Shrewsbury a glowing endorsement as he officially opened the new building on Friday.
Around 400 invited guests attended the official opening ceremony at the impressive new 20,000 square feet building at Battlefield, adjacent to Shrewsbury Auction Centre. The building houses the company’s agricultural professional, fine art, accounts and administration teams.
The new HQ has two fine art salerooms, dedicated offices, storage space, 110 parking spaces and a café facility provided by Battlefield 1403. Around eight kilometres of electric cabling and 36,000 bricks have gone into the new building, which is ‘A’ rated for energy performance.
Mr Wonnacott is no stranger to Halls’ auctions, having visited frequently in recent years as presenter of popular BBC television series Bargain Hunt when the company was based at the Welsh Bridge in Shrewsbury.
He said his late friend and colleague, Richard Allen, a former fine art director at Halls, would be very proud of the company’s “very special” development. He paid tribute to work of current fine art director Jeremy Lamond and his team who had carried forward Mr Allen’s legacy.
“Richard was totally professional in everything he did,” he told the audience. “He cared passionately about all the things that matter in an auction business. His successors have carried on that tradition and you cannot look at this business and fail to be impressed by what Jeremy and his team have been able to create.”
Commending the quality of the new building and salerooms, he predicted they would attract people from across the UK to sell their antiques at Halls. “It’s a centre of excellence and somewhere for Shrewsbury to be proud of. It will be of real value to the community and the whole of the Midlands,” he added.
Halls’ chairman Peter Willcock also referred to the legacy left by Mr Allen, whom he said had reinvigorate the fine art department following his arrival in 1992. His good work had been carried on by Mr Lamond and senior valuer and auctioneer Andrew Beeston and he looked forward to further evolution of the department.
Describing the new headquarters as an ”exciting and positive expansion” of the business, he paid tribute to the tenacity and determination of fellow director David Giles, who managed the project, to deliver the building on schedule.
Mr Willcock thanked main building contractor S. J. Roberts Construction Limited of Marton, near Welshpool and L. R. Powley and Co of Shrewsbury, who were responsible for the engineering part of the project, for their professionalism and commended the work of an in-house team at Halls.
Mr Giles said the new building would lead Halls into an exciting new era and he was delighted with the many positive comments and the “phenomenal” response from guests invited to the official opening event.
“This new building is an investment in the future that will increase the company’s profile in all aspects of our work,” he added.
The new salerooms are a dream come true for Mr Lamond, who said: “We are confident that it will become an important powerhouse for the fine art department, expanding the business that has been developed at the Welsh Bridge over the past 50 years.
“Our new, bespoke fine art facilities make us one of the most modern regional salerooms in the country and will allow the fine art department to offer a greater sales programme, with more dedicated specialist auctions, to our ever-widening national and international market.”
