Wider commercial property auction data may point to a cooling market, but two recent results from Auction House London suggest demand for the right assets remains strong.
April figures from Essential Information Group (EIG) showed the number of commercial lots sold at auction had fallen by 25.5% year-on-year, with the total amount raised dropping from £63m in April 2025 to £48.3m in April 2026, a decline of 23.3%. Against that backdrop, Auction House London completed an £18.2m portfolio disposal and broke the Auction House Group record for the largest single lot ever sold.
£18.2m portfolio sold in a week
In May, Jordan Phillips, associate director at Auction House London, led negotiations for the staged sale of 19 retail units and residential uppers on Powis Street in Woolwich. Owned by a long-standing client, the properties line a key retail thoroughfare and count Vodafone and Santander among their tenants.
A single buyer moved quickly. Within days, Phillips had coordinated the sale of all 19 properties, including those being marketed by other auctioneers, completing the entire portfolio across three transactions for a combined £18.2m.
"These sales show that investor demand for property in key London locations remains strong," said Phillips. "The mix of tenanted and vacant lots meant that the buyer could benefit from an immediate income with the potential for more in the long term.
"Our market knowledge meant we instantly recognised the potential of these lots and the appeal they would have to the right investor. This understanding gave us the driving force to achieve this outstanding result in such a short timeframe."
A record-breaking single lot
Auction House London's May results extended further. At its 27 May livestream commercial property auction, the company set a new Auction House Group record for the largest sum raised on a single lot. Penguin House (pictured), located at Lismarrine Industrial Park in Elstree, sold for £5,375,000 against a guide price of £5,000,000+.
Currently arranged as two retail units, a warehouse, and offices, the property generates an annual income of £111,877, with the potential to grow that figure to £650,000 per annum.
"It's no surprise that this lot attracted such a huge amount of interest," said Jamie Royston, co-founder and partner of Auction House London. "It immediately offered an investor a big boost in income but also had plenty of value-add opportunity to make an even larger profit in the future."
