The sixth and final Acuitus commercial property auction of 2019 raised £21.21m and saw the firm’s average success rate by value for the year rise to 90%. The average value of lots sold throughout the year was more than £800,000.
Acuitus auctioneer, Richard Auterac, commented: “Our first auction of the year was held amidst huge uncertainty ahead of the expected March Brexit deadline, and our final sale was the day before the General Election, so this success rate is testament to both the quality of assets we brought into the room and the depth of investor demand.
“During 2019, we sold 220 commercial properties and raised a total of £177m. In line with real estate capital markets as a whole, this volume was down year-on-year, but it’s hard to believe that this positive trend will do anything other than strengthen now that political uncertainty has been removed for the foreseeable future.”
Notable lots at the December auction included the £685,000 sale of The Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office in London’s Hatton Garden at a yield of 4.72%, and the sale of the Hillington Retail Park in Glasgow for £1.255m at a yield of 6.44%. The highest price achieved in the sale was the £2.25m paid for a prominent freehold restaurant, shop and office investment with development potential in the centre of Salisbury.
Richard Auterac commented: “There is investor demand right across the spectrum of property sectors and across all geographic locations and that means there are tremendous opportunities for sellers as well as buyers going into 2020”.
The first Acuitus auction of 2020 will take place on 12th February at The Montcalm Hotel, 2 Wallenberg Place, London W1H 7TN.
