London assets feature at next Acuitus auction

30th November 2023

London properties including a supermarket investment on the New Kings Road and a well-known public house in South Woodford are among the 35 lots at the Acuitus commercial property auction on December 13th.

The 3,642 sq ft supermarket property at 100 New Kings Road is leased to the Co-Operative Group until October 2032 at a current annual rent of £124,070. The lease features five-yearly CPI-linked rent reviews with a 1% collar and 3% cap annually compounded. The property is being offered on behalf of Joint LPA receivers with a guide price of £1.4m.

Charlie Powter of Acuitus comments: “Supermarket investments in residential areas have been a mainstay for the market for many years, offering owners reliable revenue streams from long-term occupiers and well-known tenants.”

Elsewhere in London, a 5,370-sq ft public house investment in South Woodford is being offered with a guide price of £1.4m. The property at 184 George Lane is let until 2039 and trades as The Slug & Lettuce. It produces a current annual income of £170,892 from a lease which is subject to annual yearly RPI-linked rent increases subject to a 2% and 4% collar and cap.

Further assets across the Capital include a High Street Retail and Residential investment in Elephant & Castle which has a guide price of £1.1m and produces £81,539 in rental income; while a residential asset above Boots on Camden High Street has a guide price of £1.1m-£1.15m with an income of £73,800 from three ASTs.

A prominent freehold bar/restaurant investment at 247-249 Lavendar Hill in Clapham, London will also be sold at the auction having a guide price of £1m+ with a current annual income of £81,200.

John Mehtab of Acuitus comments: “London-based assets have historically been an important driver in the commercial property market, and what we are seeing is that a slice of the capital is still a desirable addition to any investor’s portfolio”.

Two trade counter investments are also featuring at the auction, situated in Sleaford and Ayr. Both properties are let to Travis Perkins until November 2031 with five-yearly, upward-only rent reviews with minimum annual uplifts of 3% compounded. The guide prices are £950,000 and £800,000 respectively, which would reflect yields of between 7-8%.

Mhairi Archibald, Acuitus Scottish Consultant, comments: “Acuitus has sold a number of similar trade counters assets across the latter half of 2023, located around the country. The combination of strong covenants and reliable long-term occupants have been driving investor interest in these properties and we expect to see similar in this auction”.

Other lots of note include a public house investment situated prominently in Leeds City Centre, operating as Bowers Tap, which generates £167,517 in rent and has a guide price of £1.3m. While in Royal Tunbridge Wells, a well-known freehold restaurant, let until 2036 without break, is being offered with a guide price of £1.25m, producing annual rental income of £130,000.

Richard Auterac, Chairman of Acuitus, comments: “Our final catalogue of 2023 offers a variety of commercial investments that we expect will tempt buyers. Properties with strong covenants and/or those which offer active asset management opportunities have been in demand for much of this year, and we expect to see similar sentiment in the auction room later next month”.

The Acuitus auction will take place on December 13th at 1pm and will be broadcast via livestream on the Acuitus website with bidding online, by telephone and by proxy.