London property auctions in February 2013

Property auctions taking place in London in February 2013 –

5. February 2013 | Allsop Commercial
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6. February 2013 | Barnard Marcus
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6. February 2013 | Strettons
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11. February 2013 | Savills
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14. February 2013 | Allsop Residential
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19. February 2013 | Andrews & Robertson
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27. February 2013 | Auction House London
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27. February | CBRE Commercial
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CBRE Auction update
Passionate bidding pushed prices beyond expectations at CBRE’s latest auction on 27th February, sending final bids on a rarely available freehold office building in the City of London to £3.575m, reflecting a net yield of 3%.

Interest in 2 Devonshire Square and 2 Cavendish Court, London EC2 (Lot 9), was intense prior to the auction with over 50 interested parties, both from the UK and overseas, viewing and investigating the opportunity within the auction marketing period. The property provided over 6,000 sq ft of multi-let offices at a current rental of £116,408pa with imminent reversions and future potential to convert to residential use, subject to consents.

By the time it went under the hammer at The Millennium Hotel, Mayfair, London W1, there was an immense depth of bidding, driven by its location and scarcity value, situated just yards from Heron Tower and The Gherkin.

John Townsend, Head of Auctions, said: “I took 63 consecutive bids in £25,000 increments and the pace of bidding was rapid. This particular sale underlines the huge confidence present in the market where private investors are chasing trophy assets to add to their portfolios, especially in Central London, where they seldom get the opportunity to compete.

Investors loved the transparency of the auction room. We succeeded in generating enormous interest by capitalising on our extensive network at CBRE and our UK and overseas buyers list, as well as drawing on the in-depth knowledge from our City office.

We now have a list of about 50 disappointed investors who missed out on this asset who are seeking similar stock, so we’re keen to unveil more of the same for our 22nd May sale.

This sale further helps dispel the myth that auctions should only be used for selling secondary and tertiary property. For the right product, an auction will attract a huge target audience which will drive pricing and this was evident here.”

Revenues have so far reached £16.4m from the sale and Townsend added: “We are receiving considerable post sale interest which will push revenues up further. Investors are buying where they see opportunity for active asset management in the ‘here and now’, as much as for the long term value of their stock. “

Other highlights of the sale included:

– A portfolio of trade counter investments offered on behalf of Wolseley, in regional locations including Christchurch in Dorset, Salford and Scarborough. All these investments sold for between £154,000 and £445,000 with net yields ranging between 7.5% and 9.8%.
– A prime freehold bank investment let to HSBC in Cheapside, Wood Green, London N22 with just two years to a tenant’s option to break and four years to the end of the lease, sold prior to auction. Expected to achieve between £1.4m/£1.5m, it sold for a net yield of just over 6%.
– A convenience store in Chichester, West Sussex, let to Southern Co-Operatives Limited at a rent of £65,000pa until 2028 also sold prior. This pub conversion was let with the upper parts sold off on a long lease and sold for a net yield reflecting just over 6%, a price significantly in excess of the target price of £900,000/£925,000.
– A substantial vacant office building located on an established business park in Telford comprising over 85,000 sq ft, was offered with a disclosed reserve of no higher than £450,000. The property sold in the room for £530,000, reflecting a capital value of about £6 per square foot.
– A 12,200 sq ft multi-let office building in Harrow was offered on behalf of Joint LPA Receivers. Let at £99,719pa, it sold in the room for £797,000 reflecting a net yield of 11.8% and £65 psf Capital Value.
– A motor trade and car showroom investment in Newport, Gwent, let to Pendragon Property Holdings Limited until 2021 at a rent of £152,740pa, sold prior to auction for a net yield in the region of 9%.
– A prime freehold retail investment in Felixstowe let to New Look until 2023 at a rent of £57,500pa, sold for £592,000, reflecting a net yield of 9.1%.

Past auctions >>