Retail was in favour last year, with convenience stores tipped as one of the safest places to invest, according to the latest Allsop Commercial Review.
Retail accounted for 68% of Allsop’s total lots sold in 2015, up from 58% the previous year. Convenience stores were the lowest-yielding retail asset, with yields sitting at 5.7%, compared with a five-year average of 6.6%.
Average yields for charity shops sat at 8.1% in 2015, national chains at 7.5%, local shops at 6.8%, betting shops at 6.7% and banks at 6.3%.
Allsop said convenience was the retail sector least disrupted by changing consumer habits. It said: “Betting shops or banks may make cost savings by moving online, but a convenience store’s main selling point will ensure a need for a physical presence.”
Other shrewd investors, said the report, will target light industrial and laundrette lots, both of which come under the new permitted development rights regime, meaning they can be converted to residential without planning permission.
Receivership lots, which made up almost one-third of commercial auction sales three years ago, now account for just 7% of sales.
In contrast, property companies have increased their activity in the auction room, accounting for 65% of Allsop’s commercial sales last year, up from 59% in 2014.
The national picture for commercial auctions showed the South East delivering the biggest receipts, raising almost £137m, with London offering the largest average lot sizes and keenest yields.
The lowest-yielding region outside London and the South East was the South West, which delivered an average yield of 7.5%.
Yields were highest in Scotland at 9.8%.
