SDL Auctions Bigwood is approaching £100m of deals as it plans to score more through its events held at the Villa Park football ground.

The auctioneer, which holds its auctions at the Birmingham home of Aston Villa football club and online, has raised £93m from sales this year, already beating its takings for 2017 with one more event to go in December.

It has planned seven dates for 2019.

The first 2019 auction is on February 14 with six further auctions on March 21, May 23, July 18, September 12, October 24 and December 12.

Jason Lee, head of auctions at SDL Auctions Bigwood, said: “The popularity of selling by auction continues to grow and we’re responding to this market requirement by offering our auction events at Villa Park football ground while also offering our online auction proposition.

“Plus, for our buyers on auction day we’re offering more options than ever before. Our customers can now bid for lots in person at an auction event, by proxy, on the telephone or via the internet if they can’t attend.

“By making the process as simple as possible, and with the certainty of a sale on the fall of the hammer and completion in 28 days, we are making it easier to achieve a sale.”

Meanwhile, outsourced auction management provider IAM Sold is reporting an 18% annual increase in turnover to £19m for the 2018 financial year.

Jamie Cooke, managing director of IAM Sold, said the auction software provider has helped generate an income of £10.6m for its agent partners from 3,300 completed sales.

Cooke said: “We’re delighted to see year-on-year growth, and in turn, substantial revenue paid to our agent partners as agents realise the benefits of offering auction to their clients.

“In a relatively tough sales environment, auction can be the best option for vendors, and it’s great for our partner agents to be able to give vendors the choice.

“We continue to evolve our service offering having introduced a number of key initiatives and technology advancements to support our partners this year which has helped them to grow their auction business.”

Further developments for next year include a training scheme with Agency All Stars and a new payments system.