Investors target large lots as May auction raises £37.4m

26th May 2017

Six lots sold for more than £2m each as Acuitus raised £37.4m at its May auction. The auction reflected a success rate of 71% with 48 of the 68 lots offered selling.

Acuitus Chairman, Richard Auterac, commented: “This auction vividly illustrated the opportunities for sellers who have properties that are in the £1m-5m bracket and have the characteristics that our major investors and property companies are looking for.  These buyers are not constrained by sector or location and this is creating a hugely conducive environment for selling”.

A prime retail unit occupied by GAP at 192 Western Road in Brighton sold for £2.81m and there was also sustained bidding for a restaurant investment in Reigate High Street which is occupied by Carluccio’s and sold for £1.3m at a yield of 4.1%.

The two highest prices achieved in the sale were £3m for Units 11-15 at the Portland Walk shopping centre in Barrow-in-Furness, and the £2.9m paid for a retail unit in Lewisham High Street where the tenant, Iceland, was holding over. The yield was 4.7%.

The Thomas A Becket pub in London’s Old Kent Road – where legendary British boxer, Henry Cooper, used to train in a gym upstairs – sold for £2.41m. Today, the pub’s upper parts are four flats and the sale reflected a yield of 5.5%.

Richard Auterac commented: “The only factor that is constraining our sector at the present is the supply of the right type of asset.  This sale demonstrated the breadth of investor demand and while some property transactions may be on the back burner in the run-up to the election, there is little evidence of this in the auction room”.

Other lots which sold in the auction included:

  • Carlisle, Lowther Street: a freehold bank investment let to Lloyds Bank Plc on a new 15-year lease with no breaks and producing £63,650pa sold for £1.1m at a yield of 5.4%.
  • Rhyl, Market Street/Queen Street: a 26,690 sq ft freehold retail investment let to Wilko until 2026 and currently producing £275,388pa sold for £2.55m.
  • Chard, Sainsbury’s Supermarket: a, 18,300 sq ft  supermarket in the town centre let to Sainsbury with a tenant’s break next year and currently producing £190,000pa sold for £2.29m at a yield of 7.8%.

The next Acuitus auction will take place on July 13th at the Radisson Blu Portman Hotel, 22 Portman Square, London W1H 7BG.