The new site, located at the Salt Pointe Commerce Center in Lake Point, Utah (approximately 20 miles west of Salt Lake City), has 37+/- acres of developable land. It is located 17 miles west of the Salt Lake City International Airport, with 1,000 feet of visibility along I-80.

"We feel very fortunate that Ritchie Bros. has decided to open an auction site in Utah," says Nicole Cline, Economic Development Director for Tooele County. "They are a strong, stable company and a great corporate citizen - we are proud to have them in our community. We also believe this new site will enhance the visibility of Ritchie Bros. in our state, which will aid in its success."

Ritchie Bros. typically holds three to five public auctions at each of its auction sites around the world. The last multi-million dollar auction in Utah, held November 13, 2009, attracted more than 1,000 registered bidders from 21 countries. Purchasers participated from as far away as Egypt, Spain, Korea, and from all over North America.

About Ritchie Bros.

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world's largest industrial auctioneer, selling more equipment to on-site and online bidders than any other company in the world. The Company has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries, including 39 auction sites worldwide. Ritchie Bros. sells, through unreserved public auctions, a broad range of used and unused industrial assets, including equipment, trucks and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, agricultural, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum and marine industries. The Company maintains a web site at www.rbauction.com and sponsors an equipment wiki at www.RitchieWiki.com.

SOURCE Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

The 60+/- acre Grande Prairie auction site is double the size of Ritchie Bros. former auction site located at 14606 100 Street. The new site, complete with a larger yard and facilities, including the second largest auction building operated by Ritchie Bros. in the world, will provide sellers with more space to showcase their equipment to a global audience of buyers. Plans to lease a 5+/- acre property used for equipment storage near the former auction site are currently under development.

Equipment being sold in the upcoming Grand Opening auction includes: 24 rock trucks including late model Cat 777D rock trucks, more than 60 crawler tractors, 45 hydraulic excavators, more than 120 pickup trucks, 40 winch tractors and 40 flatbed trucks, boom and bed trucks, in addition to other construction, mining, logging and agricultural items. Every item in the auction will be sold to the highest bidders on auction day, with no minimum bids or reserve prices.

    <<
    WHO:   Grande Prairie Reeve Everett McDonald;
           Grande Prairie Alderman Alex Gustafson;
           Ritchie Bros. CEO Peter Blake;
           Ritchie Bros. Senior Vice President Kevin Tink;
           Ritchie Bros. Divisional Manager Brian Glenn; and
           Ritchie Bros. Regional Manager Brian Podruzny

    WHAT:  Grand Opening auction and ribbon cutting ceremony for
           Ritchie Bros.' Grande Prairie auction site.

    WHEN:  Auction starts at 8:00 a.m. each day
           (Tuesday, November 24 - Wednesday, November 25, 2009)
           Ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held approximately at 12:30 p.m.
           on Tuesday, November 24th

    WHERE: Ritchie Bros. brand new permanent auction site:
           Range Road 51 & Hwy 43, Grande Prairie, AB
           Auction site phone: +1.780.538.1100
    >>

DIRECTIONS TO SALE SITE: From Grande Prairie Airport, proceed east on Hwy 43 for approximately 2 miles. Turn left at 108 St and follow the bypass to 100 St. Turn left and follow Hwy 43 (100 St) for approximately 2 miles. Turn left to the auction site and follow the signs for parking.

About Ritchie Bros.

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world's largest industrial auctioneer, selling more equipment to on-site and online bidders than any other company in the world. The Company has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries, including 39 auction sites worldwide. Ritchie Bros. sells, through unreserved public auctions, a broad range of used and unused industrial assets, including equipment, trucks and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, agricultural, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum and marine industries. The Company maintains a web site at www.rbauction.com and sponsors an equipment wiki at www.RitchieWiki.com.

SOURCE: Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

For more auction/grand opening information contact: Kim Schulz, Manager, Corporate
Communications, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Phone: (778) 331-5442 or email
kschulz@rbauction.com; Or Brian Podruzny, Regional Manager, Ritchie Bros.
Auctioneers, Grande Prairie auction site tel: (780) 538-1100; For more information
about the lease opportunity, contact: Mike Ford, Ritchie Bros. Properties Dept.,
1-800-663-8457

The first auction under the Ritchie Bros. banner at the new location in Tipton, California, is planned for February 12, 2010 and will coincide with the World Ag Expo in Tulare, California, which is located approximately five miles north of the auction site. This auction will mark the 25th anniversary of Martella Auction Company conducting auctions following the World Ag Expo.

Terms of the transaction will not be disclosed because its size will not be considered material relative to the Company's consolidated operations. The acquisition is expected to close on or about December 21, 2009.

About Ritchie Bros.

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world's largest industrial auctioneer, selling more equipment to on-site and online bidders than any other company in the world. The Company has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries, including 39 auction sites worldwide. Ritchie Bros. sells, through unreserved public auctions, a broad range of used and unused industrial assets, including equipment, trucks and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, agricultural, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum and marine industries. The Company maintains a web site at www.rbauction.com and sponsors an equipment wiki at www.RitchieWiki.com.

Investors and potential investors should note that this information may not be indicative of the overall financial performance of the Company for this or any period.

SOURCE Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

"We are very proud to receive the 2009 NAIOP award for Office Development," said Jeremy Black, Vice President of Business Development, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. "We love our new building - it's not only a work of art, it's our home. We would like to thank GWL Realty Advisors, Bunting Coady Architects, Ventana Construction and MHPM Project Managers for their involvement in the design and construction of an office that takes care of both our employees and the environment in which they live."

Mr. Black accepted the award along with Don Harrison of GWL Realty Advisors, Paul Reynolds of MHPM Project Managers Inc., Teresa Coady of Bunting Coady Architects, John Sharp of Ventana Construction Corporation and Blair Quinn of CB Richard Ellis.

Ritchie Bros.' new global headquarters is a 15,200+-square-metre (164,000-ft(2)) office with a wealth of work-life features, including a cafeteria, workout facility and a new corporate child-care center. It currently houses more than 300 employees, and was designed with environmental building practices in mind. As such, Ritchie Bros. hopes the building will achieve LEED Gold certification status from the Canadian Green Building Council - it will be the first LEED Gold building in Burnaby.

KEY FACTS:

    <<
    -   Child-care centre - 465 m(2) (5,000 ft(2)) - licensed to care for a
        maximum of 45 infants, toddlers, preschoolers and a limited number of
        school age children. For now, the centre is available to staff
        members' children, but there are plans in place to open a few spaces
        to specific corporate partners at some point in the future.
        Ritchie Bros. currently subsidizes the child-care fees for its
        employees at this facility.

    -   Café - 325 m(2) (3,500 ft(2)) - catered by Corporate Classics
        Caterers, the café provides healthy choices for staff at subsidized
        prices. Other than a few "grab and go items", the menu changes daily
        to appeal to a variety of tastes.

    -   Workout facility - 275 m(2) (3,000 ft(2)) - contains modern, high
        quality equipment including three treadmills, three elliptical
        machines, four stationary bikes, one stair climber, one rowing
        machine, two total gyms as well as benches with free weights. It is
        available for staff to use 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
    >>

The NAIOP awards recognize the full range of disciplines involved in creating successful real estate solutions while highlighting the leadership roles played by property owners and developers. There were more than 60 entries for eight categories for last night's awards. Categories included Green Design/Stewardship, Industrial Development, Industrial Lease, Interior Design/Improvement, Investment Transaction, Mixed Use Development, Office Lease and Office Development.

There were more than 10 entries for the Office Development category and three finalists were selected. Besides Ritchie Bros., the other finalists were Discovery Parks Trust and Morguard for the Discovery Green Building and Bentall LP, bcIMC and Bunting Coady Architects for the Broadway Tech Centre.

NAIOP is an association that represents the interests of developers and owners of commercial real estate throughout North America.

About Ritchie Bros.

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world's largest industrial auctioneer, selling more equipment to on-site and online bidders than any other company in the world. The Company has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries, including 39 auction sites worldwide. Ritchie Bros. sells, through unreserved public auctions, a broad range of used and unused industrial assets, including equipment, trucks and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, agricultural, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum and marine industries. The Company maintains a web site at www.rbauction.com and sponsors an equipment wiki at www.RitchieWiki.com.

/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited members of the media/

SOURCE: Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

Kim Schulz, Manager, Corporate Communications, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Phone:
(778) 331-5442 or email kschulz@rbauction.com