October auction raises £26m

Acuitus auctioneer, Richard Auterac, cited the “extraordinary breadth” of asset type that sold at the firm’s latest auction as being indicative of the current nature of the market place.

Following the auction which raised almost £26m from the sale of 40 properties, Auterac commented: “Throughout the recession and building on 25 years of experience, we have developed a specialism of working with borrowers, banks, receivers and administrators to help them work out substantial portfolios of properties.

“These mandates involve preparing for auction the extraordinary breadth of properties that sold today. The auction house’s job in today’s market is not just about prime investment-grade assets. This sale demonstrated that vividly: there were prime retail units selling at yields of just over 5% but there was also demand for empty regional office blocks – essentially speculative investments.

“I’ve never known a market where there is such a range of investment criteria from across our buying clients.

“This presents a huge challenge in bringing properties to the market. Accordingly, we don’t see our responsibilities beginning and ending in the auction room. We have to engage intensively with vendors, understand their pricing and be certain about the reasoned advice we give.”

Acuitus’s fifth auction of the year got off to an emphatic start with the ground rent investment of a 16,000-sq ft shop in Chesterfield let to Primark selling for £705,000 at a yield of 3.6%. A packed and very lively room then snapped up a variety of assets including two freehold retail investments in London’s Marylebone and Islington at £1.68m and £1.21m respectively – both at yields of around 5%.

Commenting on the overall sale rate of 63%, Auterac said: “This doesn’t show a lack of buying power in the market, it just illustrates how specific buyers are being. Where buyers get assets that match their needs they are very aggressive in their bidding. Just under a quarter of the lots that sold today did so at yields of less than 6%, and post-auction interest already indicates that further sales will complete”.

Acuitus October auction highlights:

• Two prime retail units in Bournemouth and Lymm let to Lloyds Bank and Barclays Bank sold for £538,000 and £525,000 at yields of just over 5% and 5.5% respectively
• A 3,300-sq ft freehold retail investment on Bishopsgate in the heart of the City of London sold for £1.24m at a yield of 5.4%
• A 3,849-sq ft shop in Market Harborough let to Monsoon sold for £1m at a yield of 8.5%
• A substantial retail and office investment in Granby Street, Leicester, offered for sale on behalf of administrators sold for £1.01m – almost double its guide price
• A freehold retail and residential investment in London’s Old Brompton Road sold for £540,000 reflecting a capital value of nearly £1,000 per sq ft
• A leasehold motor trade investment in London’s St John’s Wood sold for £510,000 at a yield of 7.4%

Marketing is about to begin for our next auction on December 8th at The Millennium Hotel, Grosvenor Square, London, W1. Please contact any of the Acuitus team for further details.