Centre Manager and Staff

Geoffrey Barfoot has worked in the auction business for nearly 40 years. Starting at the tender age of 16 as an assistant Porter in a saleroom in his native Hampshire, Geoffrey has done just about every job in an auction environment, from weighing sheep and holding an umbrella over the auctioneer at rainswept outside sales, to bringing the gavel down on a rare set of 12 Chinese paintings for £56,000.

After several years working for the London based auctioneers Phillips, Geoffrey moved to Suffolk in 1994. He has been at the auction centre at Campsea Ashe for over 16 years.

Often asked about the most memorable items he has sold Geoffrey cites the quirky rather than the most valuable. He once sold Benny Hill’s Beret and cracked spectacles, that led to an appearance live on “Sky News”! An auction of unreclaimed stolen books (some 10,000 volumes all stolen by the same person) brought an interview with Anna Ford on Radio 4’s “Today” programme.

Geoffrey is assisted by Office Manager Linda Coates and by other auctioneers…the very experienced Keith Gray, James Shand and selling the produce, possibly the country’s oldest practising auctioneer Basil Smith.

And our team…what a team!

Over 50 professional, dedicated, exuberant and capable colleagues who go the extra mile to make our clients’ transactions run smoothly. See our Who’s Who to put a face to a name…