Allsop’s commercial auction raises £56.5m from the sale of 86 lots

• Latest commercial auction raised £56.5m, double the end-of-day total of March 2020

• 17 lots sold for £1m+ at an average of £1.62m, including the Loreburne Shopping Centre in Dumfries

• Two portfolios of Boots and Santander investments raised a combined £23.4m from the sale of 43 lots

Allsop’s second commercial auction of the year resulted in the sale of 86 lots totalling £56.5m with a success rate of 80%. With over 250 buyers registering to bid, there was a strong appetite for income-producing assets across the country.

Some lots saw very high levels of competition, with lot 23, a long-let nursery in Bolton with annual RPI-linked reviews attracting 188 bids and selling for £1.7m.

George Walker, partner and auctioneer at Allsop, said: “On the anniversary of our first major online auction, we are pleased to report that the market continues to seek out income producing and added value assets across a range of property types and locations – from nurseries to shopping centres. This time, the catalogue was dominated by two portfolios of Boots and Santander investments, which have historically attracted private investors thanks to their strong locations and the reliability of tenants, and this demand has remained constant despite the events of the last 12 months”.

Some of the key highlights included:

• Lot 35, The Loreburne Shopping Centre in Dumfries, sold near the top of its guide price of £2.75/£3m, following high levels of interest from private investors seeking to benefit from a diversified income stream from the 45 tenants
• Lots 22 and 27, two mixed-use buildings on Crawford Street, Marylebone, sold at £1.98m and £1.765m, following a series of competitive bids
• Lot 23, Busy Bees Nursery in Bolton, was the hardest fought for lot with 17 registered bidders and 188 bids placed on the day, selling at £1.7m (NIY of 5.5%)

The next online-only commercial property auction will take place on 6 May 2021.