Fifty-four years, one promise.
In 1972, Fred Coates hung up the Heavyweight Championship of the Federation and Zambia. That same year, on 12 September, he opened a small auctioneering business in Lusaka and named it after himself and his wife Joey. It is still here.
A champion in many ways
Fred Coates arrived in Northern Rhodesia in 1953 as a builder and a plumber. By 1960 he was Heavyweight Champion of Northern Rhodesia — Zambians called him Fearless Fred — and he wrestled the touring circuit through the sixties. He retired as reigning champion in 1972, and on 12 September that year opened a small auctioneering business, naming it Fredjoe after himself and his wife Joey.
He later gave away the farmland north of the yard; the neighbourhood there is now Garden Compound, and Fredjoe still trades from the middle of it. Before he died in 1985, he asked his son Freddie to look after the family and uphold Fredjoe's name. Freddie has run it to that standard ever since.
“They called him Fearless Fred.”
Today
Fredjoe Auctioneers Ltd is Zambia’s oldest auction house. Four generations of Lusaka families have bought and sold through this floor. We value moveable assets for banks, insolvency practitioners, mining houses, government agencies and private families, and we auction throughout Zambia.
The saleroom is now online as well as on Garden Road, which would have appealed to a man who once tried to build a boating lake at the Showground.
The promise Freddie made in a hospital room in Harare is the whole business model. Everything else is logistics.
Whether you are looking for something, or disposing of anything.
We handle
We value assets for
How it works
Four simple steps to place your first winning bid on the Fredjoe platform.
Registration
Create your account and complete KYC identity verification to gain full bidder access.
- 01.Provide personal information
- 02.Submit valid ID document
- 03.Await KYC approval
Select Product
Browse our authenticated catalogues, read condition reports, and save your favourites.
- 01.Search our auction catalogues
- 02.Find the right lot for you
- 03.Review condition reports
Place Your Bid
Submit competitive bids in real time and receive instant outbid notifications.
- 01.Choose your target lot
- 02.Bid within your budget
- 03.Track the live countdown
Make Payment
Pay by bank transfer and upload your proof of payment for confirmation. Collect in person or arrange delivery.
- 01.Bank transfer to our auction account
- 02.Upload proof of payment online
- 03.Collection or delivery