Sutton Kersh Auctions is to become the first auction house in the UK to trial real-time online bidding. The new online bidding concept will in essence open up their auction room to property investors from all across the world. It will enable someone sat at a computer in Singapore to bid for and purchase a property from the London auction room as easily as someone sat in front of the auctioneer.

Online bidders are treated in exactly the same way as proxy bidders and telephone bidders. Prior to the auction the online bidder will be required to register themselves by filling in an online bidding form that can be downloaded from the SKB website. The bidder will be required to sign the form and then fax, scan or post it to the auction house along with a deposit cheque and a copy of some form of personal identification. Once they are registered, they are then able to log on to The Move Channel website located at https://auctions.themovechannel.com/ and bid on lots simply by clicking a button.

Andrew Binstock, auctioneer for Sutton Kersh and Sutton Kersh Binstock is the instigator behind the idea; "This is such an exciting concept. I might be taking bids from Florida, Sydney, Hong Kong, Edinburgh, a person in work who is too busy to attend the auction and so is bidding from their workstation; it is so flexible. It essentially means that we are marketing our clients' properties to the whole world and we are providing convenience to our customers. Sutton Kersh and Sutton Kersh Binstock are always looking to push the boundaries when it comes to innovation. Technology and the Internet is evolving at such a fast pace that we need to keep introducing ideas and evolving our business to keep with the times. There is no other auction house in the country using this bidding process; it is totally unique to Sutton Kersh Binstock. I don't expect it to become an immediate success. It will take a while for people to trust the process and realise that it does work, it is easy and it is as secure as bidding in the auction room. The key thing is that we are showing vendors and purchasers that we can go that extra mile to sell their property and provide a flexible service to meet their needs. Property auctions are becoming a more and more popular way of selling and buying property and we are adapting the process to further meet people's needs and requirements to help further it's popularity."

The launch of online bidding ties in well with the completion of phase two of the Sutton Kersh website and both form part of a strategy for continuous improvement of customer service. www.suttonkersh.co.uk was re-launched in January this year with a new and fresh look. The new site offers much more extensive search options, lots of useful information and a broad range of services. Phase two introduces a system called My Sutton Kersh and allows users to create their own online account. Users are provided with log in details and they are able to bookmark the details of any properties that they have been interested in from any departments as well as saving their search details for future use.

James Kersh, director at Sutton Kersh and of Sutton Kersh Auctions comments "My Sutton Kersh is another time saving process for our clients. We want our clients to be able to search our portfolio as quickly and effectively as possible and to retrieve their search information efficiently. Whilst we already have excellent search options in place opening a My Sutton Kersh account will mean that users receive a much more personal and tailored service from our website. Clients are able to save their search information, bookmark properties of interest, request a valuation online and view legal packs for up-and-coming auctions. The Internet is becoming more and more important in the property searching process and we need to continue to be innovative and develop our online services to keep up with this trend."

Sutton Kersh will be accepting online bids at their next auction on the 4th September at the Marriott Hotel in Queen Square. To view the catalogue of properties going under the hammer at this auction visit www.suttonkersh.co.uk or call 0151 207 6315 to request a catalogue.