Shannons Auctions announces closure

Shannons Auctions has announced it will close, following the increasing number of competitors entering the market.

For four decades, Shannons has been known as the pre-eminent auction house for classic and collectable cars and motorcycles in Australia.

The auction business was a major part of the Shannons brand, which also provides insurance services as a subsidiary of Suncorp.

"The car auction landscape in Australia has changed significantly in recent years with an increasing number of competitors offering frequent and low-cost online auctions to keep up with customer demand in real-time," Shannons Auctions wrote on its website.

"Recent years have seen a notable increase in the options our customers have in buying and selling vehicles and plates, which has prompted us to review the offering to determine whether auctions is still a unique need alongside Shannons Insurance and Club.

MORE: Buying a classic car at auction

"As part of this review, a decision has been made that Shannons will no longer be facilitating auctions as part of its core business."

In early October 2023, a spokesperson for Shannons Auctions told Drive the business was "undergoing a review of our auction processes".

Cars and motorcycles weren't the only items to go under the hammer at Shannons, with petrol bowsers, automobilia, and rare heritage number plates also sold by the company.

In May 2022, Shannons Auctions set a price record for two-digit number plates in Australia, with Victorian plates '14' selling for $2.38 million including the $110,000 auction fee.

Just one month earlier, a book about the Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III signed by Allan Moffat sold for $16,000 – with the proceeds going to Dementia Australia.

MORE: Victorian number plate ‘14’ sells for record $2.27 million

Shannons Auctions had auction showrooms in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane – all of which had been built in recent years and doubled as a 'cars and coffee' event space on selected weekends.

Shannons moved to its brand-new Melbourne auction showroom in January 2017. In November 2020, its new Sydney showroom opened, while a "state-of-the-art facility" in Brisbane was opened in mid-2021.

"We are eternally grateful to our customers, community and industry partners for actively supporting our business for over 40 years," Anastasia Alexopoulos, National Auctions & Events Manager for Shannons, told Drive.