Acuitus auction raises £31m as investors target quality

Acuitus saw another successful auction with nearly a third of the lots sold achieving yields of 6% or lower as investors continued to target high-quality assets.

Its second sale of the year raised a whopping £31.3 million from 45 lots going under the hammer, with nine properties selling for more than £1 million.

Richard Auterac, Acuitus auctioneer, commented: “There was much more positivity in the room than at the first sale of the year when investors were still feeling their way into the new year and adjusting to the political environment.”

“The results continue to reflect the different investment objectives between high net worth private investors who are looking for prime assets with secure income and the more entrepreneurial property companies who are looking at opportunities for active asset management.”

Demand for well-located and well-let assets was demonstrated by the first lot of the day. A prime convenience store investment in Salisbury (let to One Stop Stores) on a new 20-year lease with a tenant’s break option in 2028 and a current rent of £25,000 per annum exclusive (pax) sold for £511,000 at a yield of 4.7%.

A shop in Haverhill let to Iceland until 2028 at a current rent of £115,000pax and selling for £1.87 million showed a yield of 5.7%.

Other lots presented active asset management opportunities. The sale of the Abbeygate Shopping Centre in Nuneaton – which sold to a private local property company – was the highest price of the sale at £4.285 million.

Auterac continued: “Year-on-year analysis may show that fewer assets are being sold at auction than last year but this is purely because of a lack of supply. Demand remains as robust as it has been and we hope that more owners will recognise the exceptional selling opportunities that the market currently provides.”

Other sales at the auction included:

-          South Street, Braintree: a freehold motor trade investment let to Kwik-Fit until 2027 with no breaks at a current rent of £59,122pax sold for £1.115 million at a yield of 5.0%

-          Cheap Street, Sherbone: prime bank investment let to Lloyds Bank until 2021 and with two substantial flats on the upper floors sold for £1.195 million at a yield of 5.2%

-          Hatch End, London: a freehold restaurant and residential investment currently producing income of £54,900pax sold for £1.005 million at a yield of 5.1%

The next Acuitus auction will take place on May 24 at the Radisson Blu Portman Hotel, 22 Portman Square, London W1H 7BG.