81% of lots offered were sold with over £18m raised from sales prior.
Nine lots were sold in excess of £1m with the two largest of these selling prior. Unecol House, Cheam in Surrey is a 37,000 sq ft office block with permitted development rights for residential conversion to 51 apartments. Sidcup House, Sidcup in Kent is a 27,300 sq ft office building, also with PD rights. Each lot was guided at £5m+.
The sale brings the firm’s revenue in October from commercial and residential sales in the UK and Ireland to more than £216m.
Significant sellers at the sale included the Salvation Army, NHS Property, the Ministry of Justice, the Treasury Solicitor and six housing associations. Notably, only 15% of the catalogue was distressed stock reflecting improved economic conditions.
Speaking after the sale, auctioneer Gary Murphy said: “This was a very active and well attended sale. London lots proved some of the most popular although prices do appear to have stabilised. This is a good thing for buyers. But sellers do need to recognise this correction when setting reserves. Prices in the home counties are seeing improvement as we experience the ripples from the capital.”
The sale saw the largest selection of regulated tenancy investments to come under the hammer for a while, 25 in total. “These were offered by private investors and attracted bids from the traditional corporate buyers as well as a few new entrants.” said Murphy. “We also offered a good selection of reversionary and long dated ground rent investments, some with interesting angles. These drew stiff competition from investors.”
