Allsop raised almost £34m at its commercial auction yesterday with the total boosted by big-ticket items, receivership lots and a mixed bag of Coral bookmaker investments.
The success rate at the 6 December sale at the Park Lane Hotel, W1, closed at 68% – slightly above that achieved at its October auction.
However, the number of lots offered decreased from 167 to 106, of which 72 sold, 66 of them in the room.
Auctioneer Duncan Moir said that the sale of vacant stock was proving “challenging” and that success was often influenced by location.
“The more difficult lots are in secondary and tertiary towns where the long-term prospects are rather limited,” said Moir. “But that said, we did achieve some good results in towns including Leicester, Reigate and Bicester and some sub-6% yields.”
One such property in Bicester Market Square, let to Barclays Bank until 2026 and offered with a guide price of £800,000, was knocked down at £1m – a 4.5% yield.
Vacant properties that bucked the trend included a listed freehold building on Guildford High Street, in Surrey, which was offered on behalf of the borough council and sold for £1.2m. The old Conservative club on the Kings Road, SW3, which was being sold for the first time in 100 years, sold for £3m.
Properties located in London suburbs also performed well. In Fulham Palace Road, SW6, a residential ground rent and restaurant investment guided at £400,000 sold for £520,000. While in Finchley High Road, N12, a shop and residential investment offered with a guide price of £625,000 made £682,500. Both reflected a yield around 6.5%.
