Acuitus raised £13.26m with a 90% success rate at its final commercial property auction of the year as investors targeted assets with secure income streams.
Ground rent investments featured prominently throughout the sale with a portfolio of five individual properties, offered on behalf of a Cambridge University College, selling for a total of £2.83m – well in excess of their guide prices. The portfolio included the combined ground rent interest in two sites on Gelderd Road in Leeds which comprise a total of 5.3 acres and sold for £717,000 at a yield of 3.83%. Two ground rent investments entered into the auction by Norwich City Council also sold in the room.
David Margolis of Acuitus comments: “The secure, long-term and often progressive income streams provided by ground rent investments are attractive to many investors and can also, in some instances, offer the opportunity to bring together freehold and leasehold ownership interests”.
Further opportunities to secure long-term income saw a newly refurbished Co-Operative Group supermarket investment in Axminster which is let on a new 15-year unbroken lease sell for £1.3m at a yield of 6.17%. Another convenience store asset – this time let to One Stop in Bognor Regis on a lease expiring in 2036 – sold for £601,000 at a yield of 5.54%.
At the other end of investor spectrum, properties with development potential have continued to attract entrepreneurial buyers throughout 2025. A group of vacant former banks, offered for NatWest, generated significant interest with properties in Hinckley, Lowestoft, Newmarket and Smethwick all selling under the hammer. The Smethwick property was targeted by more than 50 registered bidders and eventually sold for £697,000.
Jon Skerry of Acuitus comments: “It’s an encouraging signal from the market that a growing number of buyers are confident that properties requiring capital expenditure can generate a significant upside return”.
London remains the centrepiece of many investor strategies and the sale saw two mixed-use properties in Tooting and Purley sell for £1.1m and £751,000 at yields of 6.81% and 6.22% respectively. Both properties benefit from commercial and residential income and will offer the buyers active asset management opportunities.
Acuitus commercial property auctions have raised close to £160m this year – almost a quarter up on the firm’s 2024 sale volume.
Acuitus Chairman, Richard Auterac, comments: “It was good to finish the year on an upbeat note. Whether it’s investors looking for secure income streams or more entrepreneurial buyers seeking out assets with development potential, our seven sales this year have demonstrated the ability of Acuitus auctions to match the aspirations of both our buy-side and sell-side clients.
“The general economic environment, world politics and the cost of finance will continue to shape investor attitudes, but there is reason for cautious optimism, and we are already building a strong catalogue for our first sale of 2026 in February.”
The next Acuitus auction will take place on February 12th at 1pm and will be broadcast via livestream on the Acuitus website with bidding online, by telephone and by proxy.
