The largest lot sold under the hammer, on behalf of Receivers, was a freehold mixed-use investment at 30-32 Granby Street in Leicester. It sold for £2.895m and comprises a coffee shop/restaurant with 27 flats above that are fully let on ASTs. In London, a similar mixed-use property on Chiswick High Road sold for £1.49m at a yield of 6.98%.
The Manor House pub in Royal Tunbridge Wells, which was offered on behalf of a major UK fund, sold just prior to auction for £2.4m at a yield of 7.63%. Several other leisure properties also featured in the auction, including two assets in central Norwich offered on behalf of the city council which sold for £718,000 and £649,000 at respective yields of 9.26% and 6.51%.
Charlie Powter of Acuitus comments: “As we have started to see this year, leisure investments are popular with high net-worth investors despite the negative headlines around the sector”.
A freehold roadside property in Wokingham with long-term development potential generated considerable interest from investors with bidding driving the purchase price to £1.53m – a yield of 3.5%. Currently operating as a car wash and café business, the 0.34-acre site sits prominently on the corner of the A329 and may be suitable for a substantial redevelopment project.
John Mehtab of Acuitus comments: “Income-producing assets that offer strong medium/long-term upside potential for redevelopment or repurposing are keenly sought after by property companies who are hungry to deploy their capital and skills.
Improved sentiment towards the office sector saw the freehold sale of Southern House in Winchester which is predominantly occupied on short leases by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight NHS and South Central Ambulance Service with annual income of £410,646. There was considerable interest in this asset and it sold for £2.4m off a guide price of £1.95m. A Grade A office building of 6,259 sq ft at the Quartz Business Park, Birmingham, producing annual rental income of £132,870 sold for £1.08m which equated to a capital value of £175 per sq ft. Three other modern business park office assets in Altrincham and Edinburgh also sold.
David Margolis of Acuitus comments: “Commercial offices are a specialist asset class which has been sensitive to EPC requirements, obsolescence and the work from home movement but these results suggest that the asset class is recovering with rebased rents and an increasing level of workers returning to the office”.
Finally, four former bank properties offered on behalf of NatWest in Cannock, Uttoxeter, Stafford, and Aintree all sold having proved popular with developers and investors.
Acuitus Chairman, Richard Auterac, comments: “The results of this auction show a strengthening commercial property market across sectors and lot sizes.
“In addition to the larger lots which all found willing buyers at this sale, it is notable to see that the accessibility provided by online auctions is also enabling more modestly sized assets to speedily find private investor buyers.
“Accordingly, owners who wish to actively manage their portfolios can capitalise on the enhanced market reach and liquidity that we can provide across the UK and in all property sectors.”
The next Acuitus auction will take place on December 11th at 1pm and will be broadcast via livestream on the Acuitus website with bidding online, by telephone and by proxy. Further details here
