Allsop’s December auction saw £60.5m sold at a success rate of 86%, which leaves their final figures for the year standing at £445.1m at a success rate of 90%, the strongest end of year success rate for a decade.
Strong competition in the room saw many sales exceed guide prices:
• Lot 16 – A freehold office investment in New Malden, let on a short lease, sold at £3.75m (£266 psf) off a guide price of £2.5m-£2.7m. There were over 30 bidders for this lot, despite it having been on the market through private treaty for over a year. The auction marketing generated new interest and genuine competition unlocked significant gains for the vendor.
• Lot 76 – Co-op convenience store let on a long lease in Tetbury, sold at £1.17m (3.8% net – one of the keenest retail yields on the day) approx. 40% over guide.
• Lot 88 – The NCP carpark site in Lyme Regis, let until 2037, with annual RPI increases. Sold at £727,000 (4.6% net), approx. 33% over guide price.
In total, 14 lots over £1m were sold. Highlights include:
• Lot 10 – Three restaurants on a modern leisure park in Barking adjacent to A13. Sold at £2.35m representing 6.8%
• Lot 72 – WHSmiths in Shaftesbury, let on a rebased lease sold at £600,000 (5.2%)
• Lot 74 – Sainsbury’s convenience store in Pinner, let on a 15 year lease producing £71,553pa. Sold at £1.26m (5.3%)
• Lot 77 – A Boots store on Holloway Road, London N7. Sold at £1.5m (4.7%)
• Lot 94 – four modern long leasehold shop units producing £81,000 pa in Widnes. Sold at £1.1m (6.9%)
Duncan Moir, Auctioneer and partner commented:
“The strength of demand is very clear. The lack of quality income in this low interest rate climate is putting a premium onto the better investments. Lot 23 for example, a Freehold Kwik Fit in Sheerness (pictured), which was sold at auction in early 2015 at 6.25% was offered, and the competition in the room pushed this to 5.6%, an improvement over a period of only 10 months. The year closes with a record 90% success rate, which augurs well for 2016.”
The December commercial auction also saw Allsop’s newest Auctioneer Will Clough take centre stage, when he made his debut.
Coming onto the rostrum for the first time, his opening lot under the gavel was Lot 126, a shop investment in Chester-Le-Street – sold for £600,000.
His engaging style, helped raise bidding well over the guide price. We look forward to seeing more sales from Will in 2016!
