Agorastore has been a key player in the circular economy since 2005 by enabling companies and public institutions to give a second life to their equipment and real estate through an online auction platform and additional services. As part of its international platform strategy, Agorastore had identified several potential acquisitions with strong synergies in Europe, including Auctelia.

Founded in Belgium in 2009, Auctelia is an online auction platform for second-hand professional equipment and vehicles. Historically positioned on sales related to cessations of activity and judicial liquidations, the company has gradually extended its offer towards a clientele of private companies and public institutions for which it organizes the resale of various goods in the fields of industry, carpentry, catering, construction, environment and transportation.

Auctelia provides its clients with a large base of qualified buyers in 40 countries, as well as an exhaustive range of services related to the management of digital transactions.

With the integration of Auctelia, whose market, business model and growth pace are similar to Agorastore, the group will reach a volume of sales of close to €M 150. Each selling client will benefit from a broader base of buyers, bidders will have access to an enriched range of goods and the two will see their connection facilitated by improved technological features.

Olivier de La Chaise, CEO of Agorastore comments: "While Agorastore has just announced the entry of 21 Invest France and Bpifrance into its capital, this first acquisition outside France falls into our organic and external development strategy in France and in Europe, with the objective of rapidly tripling our sales volume. Led by its manager Olivier Maton, Auctelia has the expertise, customer recognition and ideal positioning to successfully constitute our growth partner in the Benelux region.”

Antoine Vigneron, Partner and Martin Bellé, Investment Manager at 21 Invest France say: “We are delighted to already get going with the growth project planned with Agorastore’s CEO and his team in November 2022. This build-up fits perfectly into the platform strategy that we want to carry out and we are confident in the potential for synergies between Agorastore and Auctelia.”

Olivier Maton, CEO of Auctelia adds: “This merger comes at a key moment in our development, after several years of organic growth in Belgium. I am delighted to be able to implement a new phase of growth for our company alongside Agorastore, benefiting from our complementary expertise and resources.”