Demand for £1m-plus lots dominated the Acuitus commercial property auction on October 21.
The auction raised £17.332m from the sale of just over half of the 29 lots offered with 10 of these selling for more than £1m. By value, just under 75% of the investments offered sold at an average price of £1.15m – substantially above the corresponding average sale prices in other autumn sales to date.
A receivership retail and residential investment in Bath Road, Hounslow, was the subject of fiercely competitive bidding and eventually sold for £2.81m to a group of local businessmen. This was £1.3m above the initial guide price and reflected a yield of 3.22%.
Bidding was equally strong for 25 Litchfield Street, a restaurant, wine bar and residential property in London’s West End. The home of what is thought to be London’s oldest French wine bar, Le Beaujolais, was bought for £2.04m at a yield of 3.94%.
Pub investments were again sought after in the room. Two London lots offered by Enterprise Inns – The Birdcage in Stamford Hill and The Snooty Fox in Highbury – sold for £1.05m and £800,000 respectively. The Six Chimneys in Kirkgate, Wakefield, is let to JD Wetherspoon and sold for £1.145m at a yield of 5.7%.
Acuitus auctioneer, Richard Auterac, commented: “The sale was clear evidence of the strength of demand for the right type of investments. Once again lots in central London and the south east were very popular, and there was clearly substantial buying power in what was a very busy room. This was borne out by the strong performance of the Hounslow and Litchfield Street investments amongst others.
“The £1m-plus average lot price and the average yield achieved at the auction – 6.4% – are both testament to the quality of investments offered.
“It was also gratifying to see that all lots entered by LPA Receivers sold well. We believe Acuitus’s specialism and independence serves the aims of LPA Receivers well and we very much welcome the increasing level of business from this area.
“By value, just under 75% of the investments in the sale found buyers. If you then look at the stock selection that drove purchases, it speaks a great deal about the current market place.
“Following the uncertainty of the summer period, clearer trends are now emerging in the market and this performance gives us an excellent platform for our next sale on December 9 for which we already have 30 lots in the catalogue.”
Other highlights from the October sale included:
Acuitus’s next sale will take place on 9th December at the Millennium Hotel, Grosvenor Square, London, W1 for which we are currently taking instructions. For a highly experienced, independent and personal approach to commercial property sales please contact us.
