Development opportunities in London led the way in the latest Acuitus auction with £28.0m assets sold at a success rate of 75%.
Acting on behalf of a major corporate, Dignity, seven development opportunities were sold in suburbs across London, with competitive bidding from investors wanting to develop, let or occupy these assets. A particular highlight was a property at 259 Kilburn High Road that sold for £1.4m comprising a ground floor commercial unit and two residential flats on the upper floors – all currently vacant, while another property at 141 South Ealing Road sold for £767,000, well above the guide price.
David Margolis of Acuitus comments: “We were delighted to once again work with our valued client in selling these assets across the capital. The properties had similar characteristics of strong locations and development potential which attracted attention from entrepreneurial investors. Unimproved properties are hugely sought-after and demand easily outstrips supply.”
With strong occupier demand and low intrinsic physical obsolescence, institutional-grade Industrial investments continue to attract strong demand. In Southam, Warwickshire a substantial freehold industrial asset was sold for £2.525m at a yield of 6.74%. The property is currently let to two occupiers for a combined rent of £181,005.
John Mehtab of Acuitus comments “Industrial assets are much sought after by investors, especially those which have established occupiers providing secure income. as could be found with this property. The result surpassed the expectations of our client”.
The Torquay and Newton Abbot County Court in 1 Nicholson Road, Torquay, sold in the room for £1.25m at a yield of 9.34%. The asset is currently let to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on a lease paying £123,750 until October 2030, with no breaks.
Charlie Powter of Acuitus comments: “Income secured by the Government is highly sought after as it is the highest-grade security. These buildings are usually a perfect fit for the government departments that occupy them, as is this case with this county court. Although Government policy is to take traditionally shorter leases with break clauses, it is rare for them to move out. In this case the tenant was happy to have the break clause removed. A UK 5-year yield is 3.9% compared with the yield of 9.34% on this asset.
An attractive and prominent Grade II property on Kew Bridge Road, Brentford – that comprises of a coffee shop, a fitness studio, and a three-bed residential flat – sold prior to the auction on behalf of Network Rail. It’s pre-auction guide was £1.1m. The property, which generates £91,800 in annual rental income, sits prominently on the south end of Kew Bridge and is adjacent to the mainline train station of the same name.
There were a number of Scottish assets offered including a large heritable Grade B development site in Glasgow, Scotland, situated at 197 Pollokshaws Road sold prior to the auction. The pre-auction guide was £1.8m.
The largest lot size was Mytchetts Place, Camberley which is a substantial Victorian mansion and grounds being sold for mortgagees in possession. It sold prior comfortably above its pre-auction guide of £3.0m-£3.5m
Richard Auterac of Acuitus comments: “Quality investments will always attract interest but we are seeing lot more appetite for development situations. We have already commented that this may be one of the signals of the start of a new property cycle driven by lower finance costs and resumed economic growth. However it is imperative for auction professionals to know their market and to offer clients sound due diligence and pricing advice – this drives both transactions and satisfaction of what the dynamic auction market can provide”.
Instructions are being invited now for the next Acuitus broadcast auction of 2024 which will take place on Thursday November 7th. It will provide online, telephone and proxy bidding.
