At its March auction, Acuitus sold £51m of properties at an average price of £1.3m with one lot selling for £9.55m.
The ground rent investment interest in the Debenhams department store in Station Road, Harrow was the object of sustained bidding before the hammer came down at £9.55m – reflecting a net initial yield of 4.08%
The property is let to Nominees of the M&G Property Portfolio (formerly the Prudential) until 2074 at a current of £412,500pax.
“The scale of the price achieved meant it was a special moment at the auction,” reported auctioneer, Richard Auterac, “but it was in line with the tremendous appetite that buyers showed throughout the sale”.
Overall, Acuitus’s second auction of the year showed a strong success rate of 84%.
A freehold retail and residential investment in Whitechapel Road, London which comprises a shop with three flats above and currently producing income of £117,313pax sold for £2m at a yield of 5.54%. Restaurant properties again proved popular with a McDonald’s drive-thru in St Austell selling for £1.32m at a yield of 5.62% while a Prezzo-occupied restaurant in Thorpe Road, Norwich sold for £1.25m at a yield of 5.67%.
There was also demand for industrial assets with the 66,040 sq ft Jensen Court in Runcorn selling for £1.625m while a Driving Test Centre in Gateshead sold at £1.97m reflecting a yield of 8.72%. Following the Chancellor’s budget boost for bingo, a Mecca Bingo Hall in Edinburgh attracted investor interest. Currently producing income of £130,418pax, it sold for £925,000.
Richard Auterac commented: “While special opportunities like the Debenhams Harrow lot and prime retail assets in London performed very well in the sale, it was also encouraging to note the sustained buying for all property sectors throughout the UK.
“At last the auction room is beginning to get the flow and quality of stock that investors are demanding. There is exceptional buying power in the market including substantial inflows from overseas and sellers would do well to capitalise on it.”
Other sales at the auction included:
We are now taking sale instructions for our third auction of 2014 which will take place on May 22nd at the Millennium Hotel, London W1.
