Member Feature

Clive Lazarus - Park Village Auctions

Who can auction off a conglomerate of properties in one single auction? Park Village is who. And Clive Lazarus is the man behind the name.

Starting out as an evaluator in the earth-moving, property and vehicle spheres, Clive was introduced to the world of auctioneering. In 1983, Park Village was established, and for the last 20 years, Clive has been serving as their Director and Head Auctioneer.

Park Village is “a national operation, with presence points in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Bloemfontein and Durban,” says Clive. The company’s strategy is to specialize in various fields to handle any auction well. Specialists in the company range from property to vehicles, yellow metal, agriculture, and disciplines such as business rescue and liquidation, deceased estates, and repossession. To break it down even further; residential and commercial properties, motor vehicles, trucks and trailers, mining, earth moving and agricultural equipment, catering and restaurant equipment and household and office furniture.

As for Clive himself, his personal strength lies in his experience in valuating and auctioning a wide variety of assets. These include both moveables and fixed properties. He is also appointed within the Registered Division of Gauteng by the Master of the High Court to value and auction a wide variety of fixed properties and moveable assets.

Being in the industry has come with its fair share of challenges- both for Clive and Park Village. For the company, Covid naturally was the biggest challenge to date. Still standing today has been a great testimony for the company; “when we started the business, my father, brothers and I have made a concerted effort to deal fairly and transparently with our clients – buyers and sellers.”

In a personal capacity, Clive has had to navigate staying abreast of existing market values, repair costs and replacements value of various equipment and assets; reading and studying newspaper advertisements and their reflective prices at the time of publication; and learning how to manage and read a crowd at an auction. As he states, “auctioneering is an art, so I had to perfect my craft early in my career”.

“The auction house will always be around longer than an individual,” Clive said when asked about his mentors. He keeps his eyes on international auction houses and learns a lot from the Barrett-Jackson car collector and auction company, Arizona’s largest public auction house, Sierra Auction and Anaheim Auctions.

Some highlights of Clive’s career include being chosen chosen by the Business Rescue Practitioner and Liquidators of several high-profile auctions, including selling BOSASA assets belonging to certain Gupta-Linked concerns. However, Clive also believes that his employees and their families are the main focus. “It’s always a highlight when we get to sell as business as a going concern. It’s important that people can retain their jobs and continue to look after their families.”

And it goes further than just that – he also cares for the employees and their families of the businesses they deal with. “We work extensively with business rescue practitioners and our main goal is to keep a concern door open. In fact, Solid Doors is a good example where we have successfully sold the concern lock, stock, and barrel. The families did not lose their main (often only) source of income.”

For the company, their longest standing relationship with major financial institutions of South Africa are one of their biggest accomplishments. “We’ve worked closely with them for decades, and it is an honour to continue doing so”.

Having been in the industry for 39 years qualifies Clive to have some good advice to offer to new auctioneers coming into the industry.

1. Hard work is a prerequisite.
2. Know your product.
3. You need dedication to the long haul, It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
4. Always ensure a fair deal.
5. Your reputation is your most important asset (next to your team)

As a long-standing board member of SAIA (11 years), with portfolios specifically in Public Relations and Marketing, Clive believes it is important to have a regulatory body for the industry, enforcing the rules and ensuring that everyone is getting a fair deal., thus ensuring there is accountability for all auction houses. “It gives consumers a reporting line for grievances. It’s also an excellent environment for auctioneers to learn and improve. There is a transfer of skills among members”.

We thank Clive and Park Village for their commitment and support to SAIA, and look forward to working closely together for many years to come.

Watch the promotional video: watch here

Park Village Auctions
www.parkvillageauctions.co.za
011 789 4375
[email protected]