Investors demonstrated demand for properties across the UK at the latest Acuitus commercial property auction which raised £16.29m at a sale rate of 76%.
Acuitus auctioneer, Richard Auterac, commented: “Together with investments from the south east, this auction featured the sale of properties from the Midlands, Suffolk, Staffordshire and Lincolnshire.
“Successfully selling properties which are located outside the south east ‘hot spot’ requires special expertise and knowledge. The take-up of lots in this sale outside the south east demonstrated this fact, and showed that investor demand can be stimulated for investments regardless of their location if you know how to bring them to market.
“The results from this auction should give sellers – and the banks in particular – increased confidence that there are buyers for the stock they are currently holding. The demand for receivership properties – all of which sold in this auction – remains very high and shows that if properties are brought effectively to auction and fully exposed to buyers then they will sell.
“Buyers were also in the market for more than just the ever-popular retail assets. There was good bidding on the substantial office lots offered with an 18,000-sq ft vacant building in West Drayton selling for just over £1m.
“The sale of the Coral bookmakers in London’s Portobello Road at a yield of 4.45% – the sharpest yield achieved on the recent Coral disposals – showed the strength of investor demand for prime assets.
“However, buyers are also increasingly prepared to take a view and bid on properties that will need asset management to realise their potential.
“The average lot price achieved at this sale was £860,000. This maintained Acuitus’s track record of achieving the highest average lot price in the commercial property auction sector, and again demonstrated the presence of serious buyers with cash.
“All this is giving the sector a great deal to think about as we head towards the autumn sales”.
July auction highlights:
Acuitus’s next auction will take place on October 18th at The Millennium Hotel, Grosvenor Square, London, W1.
