Regional auctioneer Clive Emson recorded £13.5m of sales in its second auction campaign of the year, achieving a 70% success rate despite the uncertainty and logistical problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The firm offered 133 lots, selling 71 in auction. It sold 11 prior and eight post auction, with four more lots changing hands at the time of writing.
In a rapidly changing situation, due to pandemic measures introduced by the government, Clive Emson had to cancel its five March ballroom sales across southern England at the eleventh hour.
Instead, the firm swapped to a broadcast facility for Kent and Essex then switched to online sales for West Country, Sussex and Surrey and Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
James Emson, managing director, said: “It was a week few of us will ever forget – we took the decision to take the rest of the auction online in order to comply with the spirit of the just-announced lockdown.
“Even though there were a handful of us for the broadcasts, with social distancing, the health of staff had to come first.
“We were naturally apprehensive about whether bidders would have an appetite for purchases online at such short notice, but they proved that property and land sells whatever the economic weather. Indeed, some lots generated bidding wars.
“The online element of the campaign generated more than £4m in sales, with an overall sales figure of £13.5m – a sales percentage of 70%.
“Given the challenges, this was an incredible result and I pay tribute to my colleagues for doing everything they could to keep the virtual show on the road in the most demanding of circumstances.”
Highlights of the auction included:
- a historic former wash house in Bexhill, East Sussex, sold for £37,000
- a former GPs’ surgery in Torquay, Devon, sold for £204,000,
- a plot of land by a busy A-road in Southampton, Hampshire, sold for £15,900
- a fishing lake and wildlife haven near Attleborough, Essex, sold for £260,000
- 29 garages in Medway Kent, sold for £320,000
Clive Emson’s next series of sales, in May, will all be held online.
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