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Nottingham-based John Pye Auctions has acquired a new site in Zaragoza, Spain, as part of its wider European expansion plans.

The º£½ÇÊÓƵ business, which holds more than 2,000 auctions a year and has been trading for 50 years, has bought the 156,000 sq ft site in the municipality of Bisimbre. It will be the auctioneer’s first move into the European market and is expected to be fully operational by September – creating up to 80 jobs within the first 18 months.

John Pye management said they have been planning to move into Europe for some time and chose Zaragoza due to existing clients with distribution networks in place there.

The business is also making the move to avoid the increasing costs of shipping goods to Europe from the º£½ÇÊÓƵ. It is also planning space in neighbouring European countries and wants to launch a new European bidding website.

Managing director Adam Pye said: “This is a huge step forward for John Pye Auctions, we were previously trialling mainland Europe and to now be in this position is incredible for the business and the team.

“The feedback from clients already has been overwhelming and I’d like to thank everyone involved and good luck to those who have helped the new venture get up and running. This is a historic move for the company, without any external financial support, and it’s a credit to our team, our clients and our ethos.”

Toby Moore, who will be running the new site in Zaragoza, said: “We’ve been on a fantastic journey to acquire the site and get everything in preparation for operation.

“It’s an exciting time for the business and I’m proud to be a part of this next phase. Myself and the team look forward to being the driving force for John Pye Auctions in Spain.”