Managing Director

Chris Sykes

Chris has been with Wellers since 1995, and he is also Chairman of the ICEAW support group for accountants.

Director

Tom Lofts

Tom has been involved with Wellers for many years now and became a Director at Wellers late in 2019. Tom’s background largely revolves around livestock which has been his passion alongside auctioneering for many years now. In recent years, Tom has been helping Off-Site Auction Director, Rob, on building agricultrual auctions in West Meon, dealing directly with customers and helping to accrue items to put into each auction held.

On the day of an auction, Tom combines his two long-held passions and really puts on a show when auctioneering. His experience has helped many an budding new auctioneer and provided helpful insights to all the auctioneer team at Wellers through the years.   

Commercial Director

Andrew Snelgar

With over 10 years in the auction business, Andrew, is one of our most experienced auctioneers, you will most likely see him most weeks auctioning stock in Auction 1. Day-to-day, Andrew manages the stock that goes into auction every week and as our Commercial Director, is responsible for identifying new market trends and opportunities, exploring new product ranges so that our weekly offering matches the expectations of our customer base. 

In his spare time, Andrew enjoys spending time with his family, evening walks by the sea enjoying a good old fashion portion of fish and chips as well as finding time on the weekends for a lengthy bike ride through the countryside. 

Director of Off-Site Auctions

Rob Snelgar

Rob is passionate about his family and business. Starting with Wellers in 2009, Rob took on various roles and he has always enjoyed his time in the auction industry and the roles and responsibilities that came with it. He is a great believer in being outdoors, enjoying the fresh country air and just taking it all in. In his current job role he often finds himself working in the fields around the UK looking at vehicles and machinery that is to be sold further on down the line. Rob also likes to keep things relevant whilst utilising the long held traditions at Wellers and where the business has come from, to where it is today and always staying in touch with what we often hear referred to as the glory days.

Rob runs all of our external off-site sales, whether you want a farm sale, architectural auction or anything else that may not be suited to our weekly general trade and retail auctions in Guildford. Rob is also an auctioneer in Guildford twice a week and has clocked up over 3,000 hours on the rostrum, most likely selling around half a million lots in the process. He has sold everything from clothing for £2 or £3 per lot to farm machinery ranging from hundreds to thousands per lot, most notably selling a unique pair of cup and saucers for 35k hammer price in the days where we dealt in antiques.

Rob is a dedicated and commited husband and father of two and his family are at the forefront of every decision he makes stating “My objective is to be successful at work, enjoy what I do and provide for my family the way I need to“.

Marketing Director

Andy Stubbs

Andy joined Wellers in 2015, initially on a short-term contract and spent his early time with Wellers uploading data and assisting with off-site auction advertising. Soon after he became a permanent member of the Wellers family, Andy took on the responsibility of marketing and advertising for the entire business. With the retirement of in house team member John Shilito, Andy also took on the job of managing all IT aspects of the business and was the driving force behind designing our new website which launched in Q2 of 2020. Andy has also overseen our transformation and re-brand from Wellers of Guildford to Wellers Auctions, designing the new company logo and changing the corporate colours from the much loved blue to the all-new red colour scheme, to bring Wellers into a vibrant new era. 

Andy graduated from the University of Chichester in 2014 with a Business Studies and Marketing degree, and has previous experience working in retail as well as at H.M.R.C. in Portsmouth. In his spare time he has a passion for his hometown football club ‘Pompey’ and loves all things sport, although usually finds himself in the woods or bunker when it comes to golf! 

Operations Director

Mike Higgins

Mike Joined the Wellers team in June 2018 and has an experienced background and CV. Having previously spent 25 years in the retail industry as a project manager, he decided it was time for a new challenge and got himself a job at Wellers on an interim basis, and as they say the rest is history. Mike, like many of us had been bitten by the auction bug and couldn’t see himself anywhere else as this was the new challenge he had been looking for. 

After a limited time with the business Mike took to auctioneering like a duck to water and is a regular auctioneer at our weekly retail auctions, selling everything from children’s toys to laptops, homeware and fureniture items. Mike is Head of Operations and is responsible for overseeing the construction of our weekly auctions, taking charge of the warehouse team on a day to day basis, making sure the sale is setup for the auction day which has seen Mike draw on his previous experiences to make the processing as efficient as possible. One of Mike’s favourite places to auction is at our off-site agricultural farm auctions at West Meon, stating that he likes to “get back to the grass routes of auctioneering“. 

Due to a large family of youngsters, much of Mike’s spare time is taken up being a Dad, but when the opportunity arises he does like to get out on the course and play some golf and always has a keen eye on what the 19th hole has to offer. With an interest in various ale’s of which he is a member of the local Hogs Back Brewery and through his love for ale’s Mike does like to look after his team every now and again, trying to impart some of his knowledge of ales on the team.

HR Manager

Sally Bookham

Sally (CIPD Qualified) has been with Wellers for many years now. She has a passion for helping people realise their potential at Wellers.

Accounts Manager

Kelly Hayler

Kelly joined Wellers in 2009 originally as an Office Administrator, dealing with auction admin and cashering. After showing extremely dedicated and precise work in this role she soon moved into the accounts department where she demonstrated her skills as an Accounts Assistant. In 2015, Kelly became our Accounts Manager, the role she still holds today and continues to excel at.

In her spare time Kelly enjoys spending time with her family and friends and is an extremely valued member of the Wellers team.

Receptionist

Jo Higlett

Jo joined Wellers in 2008 and works wonders as our receptionist. She originally joined the business when Wellers was based in Chertsey and stayed there until the operation moved up to Milton Keynes where she then moved down to our Guildford office where we have all been ever since.

Jo is the main point of contact for customers answering the phones and arranging collection slots every week as well as responding to all of your email enquiries. When Jo is not working her magic in the office she enjoys holiday’s to the sunny climes of Egypt and anywhere where the sun shines brightly! She also has five grandkids to occupy her spare time whilst also finding time for socialising with a few gin & tonics with friends and family.

Memorabilia Specialist & Auction Assistant

Wayne Brough

Wayne joined Wellers back in 2009 and has held several positions in the company during his time. Starting out as a Warehouse Assistant it soon became clear that he was a dedicated individual with a keen interested in technology products which led to his role changing to setting up the TV’s to go into auction each week. This would involve quality and control of the items allowing for accurate descriptions so that customer had all the information needed to place as accurate bids as possible. His keen eye for detail moved him up the ladder to Warehouse Supervisor soon after and eventually started auctioneering the products he was helping to book in each week. 

After several years working in Chertsey Wayne transferred to our Guildford branch, which at the time was home to our Antiques & Jewellery departments, taking up the position of Antiques Saleroom Manager, overseeing our monthly sales. Wayne was the face of the Antiques side of the business and anyone who wanted to consign would be dealt with by Wayne. In 2019, due to the need to accommodate for our ever increasing business in the retail sector, the Antiques & Jewellery department was closed and all attention focussed on our retail operation. Wayne currently is in charge of one of the teams setting up the weekly retail sections twice a week and is a regular auctioneer most weeks, whilst also being in a position to identify any antiques and memorabilia that come our way.

In his spare time, Wayne has a keen interest in Music and film collectables, of which you can tell when any Star Wars enters the building due to his passion for anything that occurred “a long time ago in a galaxy far far away”. 

Business Development Manager

Eric Davidson

Eric, having recently moved to the U.K. from his native Australia, having previously worked for an auction house down under has settled straight into life at Wellers. Having no auctioneer experience didn’t stop him from taking up the gavel and having a go. Almost 2 years later and he has quickly become a customer favourite with his aussie charm and wit. Eric has also moved into helping to acquire new business for the company, now in the role of Business Development Management you can expect to deal with Eric on a personal level when looking to sell your items through Wellers.

In his spare time he likes to explore his new surroundings and further aquaint himself with his new island home. He is a keen rugby player and enjoys most sports, one of which interestingly involves supporting his local Netball team!

Auction Assistant

Jan Samsom

Jan, recently joined the team in 2019 and is an integral member of staff. He spends much of his time constructing Auction 2 each week which comprises of our undelivered parcel items as well as handling the lost property when it arrives.

Originally from the Netherlands, Jan has been in the U.K. for some time now and he speaks better English than most of us!

Auction Assistant

Derrol Elva

Derrol has been with Wellers since 2019 and helps to construct our weekly retail auctions working on both Auction 1 and Auction 2 stock. One of his main responsibilities during the week is to take images of much of the stock that passes through auction, and what you see on our website will mainly have been taken by Derrol for one specific auction.