The latest Acuitus auction achieved a success rate of 80% and the sale of £37.3 million of assets.

Earlier this year, the previous round of auctions saw investor uncertainty and a dip in sale rates due to issues across the retail and restaurant sectors. However, the Acuitus sale on July 11 displayed how resilient and adaptable buyers and sellers are.

“In May we talked about how we felt that the retail sector and the property market that underpins it had reached an inflexion point which clearly signalled new market conditions,” Richard Auterac, Acuitus auctioneer, commented.

He said this recent sale showed how the auction room can ‘adapt to changed market dynamics’ and align buyer and seller expectations to create transactions.

“This sale was about the core retail assets which fuel the private investment market and it was good to see demand from across the board,” he added.

A Lloyds Bank in Clifton, Bristol, let for 15 years from 2010 at a current rent of 100,500 sold for £1.78 million at a yield of 5.3% – the highest price achieved in the sale.

Other highlights include a portfolio of 10 regional HSBC banks with prices ranging from £415,000 to £835,000 and nine sale-and-leaseback properties offered by the retailer M&Co.

An Iceland store in Buxton, Derbyshire – let until 2030 with a break in 2025 and a current rent of £127,685 – sold for £1.7 million at a yield of 7.0%, showcasing investors’ desire for properties let to national retailers who have a good trading outlook.

“The investment market generally has become more complex to predict and pricing is sensitive,” Auterac continued. “A basic approach to pricing simply doesn’t work anymore. We interact with a wide range of buyers and sellers across the UK on a daily basis and this enables us to give our clients the most up-to-the-moment advice on pricing.”

“As yesterday’s sale demonstrated, for the right investments there is still sustained demand from private investors and property companies with asset management expertise.”