Commercial Property Auction Catalogue launched as private investor buying booms

The final Acuitus commercial property auction of this year will feature 80 lots and is set to attract the growing number of private investors who are buying through the auction room.

Acuitus Chairman, Richard Auterac, comments: “The proportion of private investors buying into commercial property through the auction room is at its highest level for five years.

“Our analysis shows that nearly 40% of all private investor commercial property purchases between the start of the year and the end of July were made in the auction room. In total, private investors had spent £1.94bn on commercial property by the end of July. Of this amount, around £774m was committed by private investors through the auction room.

Demand from private investors is being met by a growing number of institutions, investment funds and banks selling assets through auction because it is currently the most efficient and quickest way to get to the widest pool of private investor capital. This, in turn, is making a higher grade of investments available through auctions, and giving high net-worth investors the ability to buy the kind of product they previously could not access.

Richard Auterac comments: “Buyers are attracted to our auctions by the returns which commercial property offers, the immediacy of the auction process and also the improving quality of assets being offered at auction.

“In the first three quarters of the year, 26% of the total  private investor purchases involving ‘institutional-grade’ stock were bought through auctions.  This is a marked increase on last year when 22% of sales were categorised in the same way – which itself was a record proportion at that time.”

The properties in the December 7th auction represent around £5.25m of rental income. A total of 19 lots are being offered with guide prices in excess of £1m and the properties in the sale represent a wide range of retail, office, industrial, ground rent and leisure investments across the UK.

Investments at the December auction include:

• 80,82 and 82A Promenade, Cheltenham: three prime shops on the town’s prime retail pitch producing £302,200pax and being offered with a guide price of £4.4m-£4.5m.
• 171 Lavender Hill, Battersea, London: restaurant let until 2034 (no breaks) plus four flats let on ASTs and planning consent for further development. Current income of £102,179pax and guide price of £1.95m.
• 82/86 London Road, Lowestoft: substantial freehold retail investment let to Marks & Spencer until 2027 with annual fixed rental uplifts. Current rent of £245,170pax and guide price of £3.75m.

The full December catalogue can be viewed here

The auction will start at 1pm on December 7th at the Radisson Blu Portman Hotel, 22 Portman Square, London W1H 7BG