Our last sale was held on Tuesday 28th February and has so far realised about £31.1 million with a sales success rate of 81%.
Demand for quality investments is still as strong as ever, which was highlighted by the sale of a virtual freehold retail investment in Drury Lane, LondonWC2, offered on behalf of Receivers, which sold for £555,000 (a net yield of 4.7%), off a Guide Price of £380,000/£400,000 and two freehold bank investments let to Barclays Bank plc, again offered on behalf of Receivers, with one inWimborne selling for £1,200,000 (a net yield of 5.5%) and another in Commercial Road, Portsmouth which sold for £3,050,000 (a net yield of 8.5%), the largest lot of the day. This was one of 12 lots selling for over £1 million in this sale.
Lot 1 – Stamford
Other notable sales included two Tesco Stores Ltd let investments in Portswood, Southampton and Taunton, which both sold, for £877,000 and £915,000 respectively and at net yields of 5.9% and 5.8%.
And a number of vacant former HSBC banks and vacant office buildings were sold including a former bank in Salcombe, selling for £320,000, after substantial interest as well as a vacant office building in Rickmansworth, comprising some 34,700 sq ft, which sold prior on behalf of Receivers for a price in excess of the guide price of £1.25 million.
The auction was extremely well attended with a number of new entrants to the market purchasing properties on the day, either in the room or via the internet and it clearly demonstrated that there is still a large pool of private money actively pursuing the better quality investments and even some vacant property or those that need careful asset management, if priced correctly.
Lot 18 – Tottenham Court Road
The latest report by Essential Information Group for April 2012, which looked at auction sales for the first quarter of the year, shows encouraging signs from the commercial market, with a rise in the number of lots sold and the totals realised, compared to the corresponding period last year, therefore suggesting growing confidence and optimism from both buyers and sellers alike.
We are delighted to have been instructed on a further selection of 50 quality investment and vacant properties from a number of Banks, Receivers, Pension Funds, Executors, Public and Private Property Companies and private individuals.
Should you wish to view any of the properties, then do please let us know and we will make the necessary arrangements. If you need to access the legal documents, they can be downloaded from our dedicated website (www.cbre.co.uk/auctions).
Lot 20 – Worthing
You will also see at the back of the catalogue, a new addition in the form of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for each property, which we are now obliged to publish in the brochure, if we have received them.While we have received most of the EPCs, if there isn’t one there for the property you are interested in, it will be made available immediately prior to the sale.
As always, we are here to help and if I, or any of my colleagues in the auction team, can assist in any way, then please do not hesitate to contact us and we will do all we can to help.
We look forward to seeing you all on Thursday 17th May 2012 at the Millennium Hotel, Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, LondonW1, starting at 2.00 pm.
Lot 33 – Basildon
JOHN P TOWNSEND BSc FRICS Executive Director & Auctioneer
CHRIS MILLS FRICS Executive Director & Auctioneer