Sourced from our network of dealers and private owners — or bought for you at a UK auction.
Excavators, loaders, dozers, dumpers and more — found across the UK and European market, investigated by someone on your side, and shipped to the UAE with customs and export documentation handled.
Every machine leaving the UK or Europe needs an export declaration, commercial invoice and certificate of origin. There's no biosecurity regime here of the kind Australia or New Zealand apply — import clearance in the UAE is a customs and duty process rather than a plant-health inspection. We prepare and hand over the UK and European export paperwork; your own customs clearing agent in the UAE handles import clearance and will confirm the applicable duty at that end.
No obligation. No purchase, no sourcing fee.
The UK has one of the deepest used-plant auction markets in the world. Machines come out of hire fleets, contractor disposals and finance recoveries, and they sell on a fixed public calendar to whoever turns up. It's an opportunity if you're standing in the room and a gamble if you're not — and from the UAE, you're not.
Rob at a UK machinery auction
Sale dates well ahead of time, including Euro Auctions and Ritchie Bros, so you can plan around them instead of hearing about a machine after it's gone.
Catalogues are published days or weeks before each sale. We send them over as soon as they're out, so you're looking at the same list as the buyers who'll be in the room.
In person, with photographs and video. Hours, condition, and an honest read on how the machine has been treated — plus anything we could not check, such as whether it could be started. We tell you what we saw, not what we assumed.
To your written limit and never above it.
Declaration, commercial invoice, certificate of origin, transport to port, shipping — the same as any other machine we source. Your own clearing agent handles import at that end.
The whole point is that somebody who knows machinery has stood in front of the lot before you commit a dirham to it — and has told you honestly what they found.
You register your own account with the auction house, you fund it, and you pay the auction house directly. Euro Plant Finder never holds your money, never bids as principal and never owns the machine — we act as your agent, to the limit you set in writing, and invoice our fee separately.
We'll only ever represent one buyer on any given lot. We can't advise two customers on the same machine while holding both their maximum bids, so if a lot is already spoken for we'll tell you it's taken — and nothing else about it.
Send us a lot number, or just tell us what you're hunting for and we'll watch the sales for you. Start an enquiry →
You tell us what you need. We do the searching, the travelling, the negotiating, and all the paperwork.
Tell us the machine — spec, year, range, hours, attachments and budget. Or just describe what you need it to do.
Dealer networks, auctions, private sellers. We find the right candidates and shortlist honestly — not just the easiest options.
We verify the seller, gather the evidence needed to assess the machine and arrange a physical inspection where you want it or where the risk justifies it. Scope and cost are agreed first.
We negotiate on your behalf. The seller invoices you and you pay the seller directly. Where appropriate, we help make sure the agreed price, condition and seller commitments are clearly documented before payment.
Export declaration, commercial invoice, certificate of origin, shipping from a UK or European port — all coordinated. Your own customs clearing agent in the UAE handles import clearance at that end.
Tracked from port to delivery. One person responsible for the whole chain.
"If it turns up worn out or misrepresented, I'm stuck with downtime on a live job — and that costs me far more than the machine."
From the UAE, you cannot fly over every time you see a machine. You're relying on photos, seller descriptions, and hope. We remove that gamble entirely.
We check the real hours, undercarriage wear, service history and the signs a listing won't show you — and arrange a physical inspection where you want it or where the risk justifies it. You get the honest picture before you decide.
We assess who you're buying from — not just the machine. The biggest risk with an overseas purchase is the seller. We deal with that before any money moves.
We prepare the UK and European export paperwork — declaration, commercial invoice, certificate of origin — and coordinate with your own clearing agent in the UAE, so the machine isn't held up on arrival.
Transport to port, export declarations, ocean freight, bill of lading — all coordinated. You don't have to manage separate freight, customs and shipping contacts.
If it works on a site or a civil project, we can find it, check it, and get it to the UAE. A rough spec is all we need.
No inventory to clear. No seller commission. We may know and work with the seller, but the seller does not pay us. Our commercial relationship is with you.
We can source several machines from different sellers across the UK and Europe, consolidate them at a UK or European port, and ship in one container — cutting your per-machine shipping cost, whether it's heading straight to your yard in the UAE or moving on again as a re-export shipment into Africa or Central Asia.
We represent you — not the seller. No inventory, no bias, no incentive to push a particular machine.
Arranged where you want it or where the risk justifies it. Not bought blind off a listing or trusted from photos alone.
Unless we complete your deal. Inspection costs quoted upfront, agreed before we travel.
The UK and European used-machinery market is one of the best in the world for depth of stock, brand variety and pricing — particularly for well-maintained European-spec machinery that isn't available at home at the same price point.
Hundreds of UK and European dealers, auctions and private sellers — far more choice than the UAE domestic market for most categories.
For the right machine, the UK and European price — including shipping and our fee — can still come in below what you'd pay at home. Especially for larger, older, or specialist machinery.
European-built machines — Volvo, JCB, Liebherr, Manitou — are often well-serviced and come with full dealer records. Condition varies, which is why physical inspection matters.
At Euro Auctions' Abu Dhabi sale, 85% of sales went to Middle East buyers, with the UAE the top buyer nation. UK and European machinery already flows into the Gulf at scale — we make sure what arrives has been physically checked first.
The questions that matter — answered honestly before you pick up the phone.
Ocean freight from a UK port to Jebel Ali or Khalifa Port typically takes three to five weeks, depending on the routing and the shipping line. Add 2–3 weeks for the search, inspection and purchase phase. A realistic timeline from brief to delivery is usually seven to nine weeks.
Every machine leaving the UK or Europe needs an export declaration, commercial invoice and certificate of origin. There's no biosecurity regime here of the kind Australia or New Zealand apply — import clearance in the UAE is a customs and duty process rather than a plant-health inspection. We prepare and hand over the UK and European export paperwork; your own customs clearing agent in the UAE handles import clearance and confirms the applicable duty at that end.
You pay the seller directly — no money passes through Euro Plant Finder. Before any payment moves, we verify the seller (business identity, trading history, physical premises) and arrange inspection of the machine where you want it or where the risk justifies it. A purchase contract is prepared between you and the seller to protect your interests. There's no currency risk of the kind that affects other markets: the UAE dirham has been pegged to the US dollar for decades, so the exchange rate you plan against today is the one you'll pay on the day. English is also the working language of the trade, so there's no language barrier at any stage.
The buying agent fee is success-only — nothing to pay if we don't complete your deal. Inspection travel costs are quoted and agreed upfront before we travel. You pay the seller directly; freight, shipping insurance and UAE import costs are also quoted before you commit.
Yes. Multiple machines can be sourced from different UK and European sellers, consolidated at a UK or European port, and shipped in one container — significantly reducing the per-machine shipping cost. That works whether the machines are headed straight to your yard in the UAE or moving on again, since Dubai is itself a re-export hub into Africa and Central Asia.
We verify every seller and gather the evidence needed to assess the machine honestly, arranging a physical inspection where you want it or where the risk justifies it — specifically to prevent this. We check hours, condition, undercarriage wear and service history, and report what we find honestly, including anything that leads us to recommend walking away. If we find a problem, you know before you buy, not after it arrives. In the rare event something is genuinely not as agreed, we don't walk away — we stay involved and pursue it with the seller on your behalf, doing everything within our power to represent your best interests.
Yes. You register your own account with the auction house and fund it yourself — we never hold your money or bid in our own name. You give us your maximum in writing, we inspect the lot beforehand and report honestly on its condition, and we bid to your limit and never above it. If you win, you pay the auction house directly and we invoice our fee separately.
Send us the machine you need — makes, models, a year range, hours, budget, any attachments — or just describe the problem. No obligation, and no purchase, no sourcing fee.
