Allsop achieves record sale at its September auction

Against a backdrop of weak post-summer auction results elsewhere in the UK, Allsop raised £71.3m and topped its residential September sales records that had remained unchallenged since 2008.

The largest lot of the catalogue to sell under the hammer was Lot 50, Albion House, Church Lane, Kingsbury, London. The multi let B1 office building of 9,633 sq. ft. was offered with permitted development rights (PDR) for conversion to 17 flats. Initially guided at £2.5m, remote and in room interest led to firm and competitive bidding, taking the hammer price to £3.2m.

“Despite all that’s been thrown in the path of buyers over the past year, the market is anything but inactive,” Gary Murphy, partner and auctioneer at Allsop, commented. “We’re experiencing some very healthy competition in our rooms and it’s encouraging to see that bidders are not shy of the higher value lots.”

“At each successful Allsop sale, the multi-million-pound stock is emerging as the biggest crowd puller. As ever, our challenge is to match reverses to buyer sentiment. But get that right and the sky’s the limit.”

In addition, the 3.93-acre site at Hitchin Road Industrial Estate in Arlesey, Lot 33, went for £2.95m from a guide of £2m. The lot is currently occupied by a 22,572 sq. ft. office building and seven warehouses totalling 40,861 sq. ft. (GIA), with permitted development granted to provide 39 apartments.

Lot 80 was the highlight of the auction, an original three-bedroom house in St Ives, offered on behalf of Devon & Cornwall Housing Association (DCH) for £1.44m from a guide price of £625,000+. Lot 10, a purpose-built block arranged to provide 74 apartments, in Leeds and producing £17,488.69 pa, sold for £445,000 reflecting a 3.9% yield.

Murphy expects to offer developers a broader choice at forthcoming sales. “Permitted development has been a very active area for us. Our buyer base has been extremely receptive to office to residential opportunities,” he continued. “The impact of the recent extension of PDR to the light industrial sector will be interesting. Watch this space.”

Ground rents remain popular despite recent disputes regarding aggressive charging. Income multipliers are steady and investments with regular reviews, along with management income and insurance commission opportunities, remain sought after.

Allsop Residential’s next sale will be held on October 26 and entries will be accepted up until October 2.