Auction roundup – partnerships, promotions, and peculiar lots

As we approach the end of another turbulent year, PIT takes a look at the latest auction news; iamsold partners with a southeast agent, Allsop launches its last resi catalogue of 2021, John Pye appoints a new head of valuations, and Brown&Co reveal the highlights of its latest sale.

iamsold extends to the southeast with new partnership

Auctioneer iamsold has strengthened its national reach with a new alliance with a prominent estate agency group in the South East.

The partnership with Arun Estates will see iamsold work across all four of the group’s brands to offer Modern Method of Auction (MMoA) to their clients.

As part of the new deal, Pittis, Cubitt & West and Wards will all add the MMoA service to their offering, in addition to existing partner Douglas Allan, who already use iamsold to deliver auction services to clients in over 100 branches.

Staff at the branches, which are situated across London, Essex, Kent, Hampshire, Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex and the Isle of Wight, underwent specialist training led by the iamproperty team, combining online learning with face-to-face sessions to build their knowledge of the MMoA process and the benefits and choice it can offer both buyers and sellers.

The group-wide rollout follows an initial three-year partnership with Arun brand, Douglas Allan. Douglas Allan is known across London and the South East for its forward-thinking approach to property buying and selling, having previously offered ‘fast-track to sale’ solutions, such as ‘best offers’ for its clients.

Along with the other Arun brands, Douglas Allan now exclusively offers the iamsold service as its preferred fast-track method of sale.

The collaboration also has the potential to meet growing demand for housing across London and the South East. Between October 2020 and October 2021, iamproperty found that the value of homes sold by auction in the South of England grew by 47%.

With the number of auction bids increasing by 98% over the same period, there is an appetite for MMoA as a way of quickly and efficiently buying and selling properties.

Agents across the Arun brands will be able to offer a wider range of homes for sale through the partnership, with iamproperty identifying a 54% rise in the amount of properties available via their iamsold service in 2021 compared with the previous year.

Commenting on the partnership, Jamie Cooke, co-founder of iamproperty who heads up the iamsold service, says: “I am delighted to announce this key partnership with Arun Estates. Working with such a well-established group adds further credibility to MMoA, which is continuing to boom in the market following a huge boost in buyer interest in different methods of sale and online trust.”

“This partnership will help to provide buyers and sellers with a choice around the method of sale they take forward, based on their own personal circumstances.”

He adds: “After working with Douglas Allan for a number of years, it is fantastic that Arun has extended the partnership to its other brands. Building this kind of working relationship, where we work collaboratively and offer solutions for agents and their clients is key to our shared success.”

One in a million lots on offer at Allsop’s last sale of 2021

Allsop has released its last residential auction catalogue of the year, featuring over 220 lots across the UK.

The new catalogue includes 15 lots with guide prices of £1 million or above. Buyers will be able to choose from a wide range of investment types including regulated tenancies, ground rent investments and properties subject to assured shorthold tenancies.

There are also several development opportunities ranging from properties requiring refurbishment to new build schemes.

Highlights from the residential catalogue include:

• Lot 33, a Grade II listed block of flats and four houses in Ruislip, guided at £3.5 million-plus (GIY 5.27%)

• Lot 82 in Beckenham, a former care home extending to over 8,000 sq ft with a pending planning application, offering the largest development opportunity of the catalogue. The property is guided at £3 million-plus

• Lot 69, a freehold former pub in Kensington with planning permission for demolition and the erection of a new build block of eight apartments. The property is guided at £2.25 million-plus

• Lot 73, a freehold block of 10 self-contained flats in Slough, of which one is currently vacant. The property is guided at £2.1 million-plus (GIY 5.52%)

Richard Adamson, partner and residential auctioneer at Allsop, comments: “The residential property market has proven to be incredibly strong over the last 12 months, and plenty of value-creating opportunities still remain across the country.”

“Our eighth and last catalogue of this year provides investors with a final opportunity to secure well-priced assets across a variety of categories, depending on the make-up of their portfolio, budget and risk appetite, before the Christmas holidays.”

We look forward to welcoming regulars and newcomers to the digital ballroom in December and expect a flurry of buyer activity,” he concludes.

The auction will take place online on December 16. The catalogue can be found here.

John Pye appoints new head of valuations amid a year of growth

National online auction platform John Pye Auctions has bolstered its Business and Property department with the promotion of its senior valuer and longstanding colleague, Anna Hall, as its new head of valuations.

In what is considered a milestone moment, Hall has also been selected as a member of the NAVA Propertymark Advisory Committee, making her the first woman to obtain the title since Ann Pye nearly three decades ago.

The committee is made up of leading figures from across the UK auction community, promoting change and professional standards within the auction industry.

Hall joined the John Pye business assets team more than eight years ago, building on her 15 years’ experience working within chartered accountancy practices, which commenced at KPMG. She has worked her way up the ranks and now heads up the business assets valuation team working to ensure continued high standards and innovation.

Commenting on her promotion, she says: “I’m thrilled to be taking on my role as head of valuations as it’s a real honour to lead a team of such dedicated and talented valuers and I am really looking forward to continuing the development of the department alongside heads of department Trevor and Charles.”

“Alongside this, being appointed to the NAVA Propertymark Advisory Committee gives me a real sense of pride, especially knowing that the last woman to hold the position was Ann Pye. It marks a moment in both my own career and my development at John Pye Auctions that I am extremely proud of.”

Hall carries a wealth of insolvency knowledge predominantly from dealing with liquidations and administrations, while also providing insolvency advice to directors covering many different industry sectors. She held previous roles with Smith Cooper LLP and Dains LLP, progressing with each firm to run larger and more technical cases.

Trevor Palethorpe, associate director and joint head of John Pye Business and Property, adds: “This is a great appointment and thoroughly well-deserved by Anna. Our department has seen some amazing growth over the past five years, both in terms of team size and the number of instructions we service annually.”

“Anna has been key to this growth. She has shown great dedication and leadership, working tirelessly to boost the department and help mentor and train our younger valuers, who are the future of the practice.”

Quirky lots sell for well above guide at Brown&Co

A former schoolroom, two homes for the price of one, and a holiday cabin sold at Brown&Co’s online auction on Tuesday December 7.

A ‘fascinating’ brick and flint former schoolroom in Crostwick, off the main North Walsham Road, sold for £157,000 – nearly twice as much as its guide of £80,000-£100,000.

The lot received multiple bids when the online auction began on Tuesday and the sale had reached £100,000 by Wednesday at 2:24pm. The price rose to £157,000 in the next few minutes when the virtual hammer came down at 2.31pm – sold to a local man.

Another lot of two homes for the price of one – an end-terrace in Esdelle Street, Norwich, converted into two – was guided at £100,000-£125,000 and eventually sold for £137,000.

And a quirky former holiday cabin in Frieston, Lincolnshire sold for £75,000, in excess of its guide of £20,000-£25,000.

At Brown&Co JHWalter’s County Property Auction, held in Lincoln on the same day, nine out of 11 lots sold bringing its yearly sales total to more than £12.5 million.

Trevor Blythe, auction manager, Brown&Co, Norwich, says: “Three weeks before Christmas, the appetite for buying property and land is still there – with our online auction seeing prices achieved over the guides and a long list of people making bids.”

“Other highlights were 10 lots which were sold for a corporate client who had a target of £1m. We were delighted to achieve in excess of £1.5 million.”

“Outside Norfolk, a three-bedroom semi-detached house in Wenhaston, Suffolk sold for £195,000, guided at £150,000-£175,000, another good result for our client.”

James Mulhall, auction manager at Brown&Co JHWalter, adds: “A successful December auction brings to an end a fantastic year for the County Property Auction Team. The sale realised £1.65m, selling nine from 11 lots which takes our total yearly sales to more than £12.5 million.”