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In the latest of our series supported by the Livestock Auctioneers Association and Shearwell Data, we visit Stirling based auction centre Caledonian Marts where a multifunctional site is proving to be the right fit. 

Recent investment at Stirling based auctioneering firm Caledonian Marts has been focussed around broadening business opportunity at the 14 acre site.

Together with livestock throughput which remains central to weekly activity, this has included new infrastructure and an improved online platform to support its increasingly popular specialist plant and equipment and insolvency sales.

There is a new 1.75 acre compound completely surrounded by security fencing to hold the increasing number of high-value machinery items entered into these sales, which has in turn required the construction of a new access road.

There is also a cafe, farm shop and fish vendors who retail from the site every week, as well as several storage units and office space let to external tenants, all of which have opened it up to a much larger customer base.

The heart of the marts weekly operations remains in its three auction rings though, with cattle and sheep put through the ring at Caledonian as they have been since 1963.

With a suite of retirements in quick succession in recent years making for a more streamlined team of staff at the organisation, there is a young team now coming to the fore.  

Testament to the long service of several of these staff members not long before this saw five individuals receive long service medals from the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS).

Longest serving member of staff Jim Dunn was awarded a 50-year award; Andy Young was awarded a medal for 45 years service; Jim Renfrew received an award for 43 years service and John Kyle and Ally Logan both received awards for 40-years.

Today, recently appointed managing director of Caledonian Marts Oliver Shearman, who joined the business in 2015, sells the store and prime cattle and prime sheep while Nick North sells cast ewes, cast cows and store sheep. The firm also recently took on Neil Tollan who will focus on the specialist plant and equipment and insolvency sales.

Sale fixtures see weekly Tuesday prime and cast sheep and Thursday prime cattle and cast cow sales, alongside fortnightly store cattle sales every second Monday, while the specialist sales are held throughout year.

Oliver says: "On a store cattle Monday, I like to be averaging 400 to 450/head of cattle through the ring and up to 1,300 prime sheep and 300 to 400 cast sheep on a Tuesday. We would generally average 50/60 prime cattle per week through the year and between 60 to 70 cows, although this will pull back slightly at this time of year.

"We are not a huge market, but we are getting the numbers through to attract trade - numbers attract buyers and buyers attract numbers. We are also of a size that we are able to offer a personal service, those use the market are customers and friends rather than a number."

Auctioneering is somewhat in the blood for Oliver, his family being the auctioneering firm which held Doncaster livestock market before it shut down in 1993.

Oliver's own path into auctioneering began with him working as a yardsman at Selby market on a Saturday and a Wednesday in his teenage years alongside studying business at Selby college.

He later made the move to Scotland when the opportunity for a role as a trainee auctioneer came up at Caledonian 2015 and has since settled in the region, saying he would not look back.

Oliver says: "I have always enjoyed being around livestock and it is an industry with a lot of variety in it. For me, those earlier years working as a drover and learning about the day-to-day workings of a market were invaluable, they definitely armed me with the skills to go into auctioneering."

Situated in Scotland's central belt with good access to major road networks means Caledonian attracts buyers and sellers from a wide area.

Along with regular, local sellers, the mart attracts cattle up from Stranraer and Wigtownshire, says Oliver, as well as across from the West in Argyll and across from the Isle of Islay.

An improved online platform has also made up part of recent improvement works, with all of the plant and equipment sales carried out exclusively online now.

While initially set up as way to overcome the challenges of trading during Covid-19, it has continued to go from strength to strength

"We hold six plant and equipment sales through the year, which are all held online since Covid-19," says Oliver.

"We do however stipulate that individuals selling an item have to bring it to the site, after which we have specific viewing days for potential customers which gives them a fair chance to come and look at products they may want to buy.

"This move has helped massively in allowing us to expose lots for sale to a far wider audience which for specialist equipment is particularly useful."

Several moments to remember on the rostrum have come in recent weeks for Oliver, when the centre broke the record for the dearest cast cow sold in the country at £3,850 for a 1,170kg Limousin cow and only days later for the most cattle sold in one lot, which saw 42 go through the ring in one go.

"The buzz of the ring and selling livestock is what I enjoy so much about it," he says. "It never gets old."

With a young team coming on and investment in improved facilities to make the most of the available space and units at Caledonian set to continue, the future looks promising for years to come.