An industrial asset in Surrey was a star property at Acuitus’ latest sale, selling for more than £3.9m under the hammer.
In total, the auction raised just over £28.7m with 86% of the properties offered selling.
The freehold of the 43,154 sq ft Hoppings Timber Yard (pictured) in Lingfield, east Surrey, is let on a new 15-year lease at a current annual rent of £275,000. The purchase price reflected a net initial yield of 6.5%.
Acuitus director Charlie Powter said: “With a new long lease in place to a good covenant, this 3.78-acre property with low site coverage of 26% also offers the potential for longer-term asset management or redevelopment. There was a good depth of interest and this type of long-let investment, irrespective of the lot size, sells well at auction”
Demand for industrial assets was further underlined by the sale of the HB Accident Repair Centre in Swinton, Manchester. Let until 2030 with a tenant break option in 2025 and at a current annual rent of £125,000, the 22,831 sq ft property sold prior to auction with a guide price of £1.75m.
Almost £17m was raised from auction contract sales prior to auction with an average lot size of more than £1.5m. One such property was The Burlington, a retail arcade in Bournemouth, which sold well in excess of its guide of £1.9m.
Elsewhere, 2 and 2a Lendal in York – a restaurant investment occupying a Grade II listed building in the city centre – attracted considerable attention from investors and also sold prior to auction substantially above its guide price of £1.1m.
Another popular leisure investment that also sold prior substantially above its guide price of £2.7m was The Red Lion Hotel and 4-8 Castle Street in Luton. It is let to the Slug & Lettuce Company until 2045 and produces £212,657 pa.
Richard Auterac, Acuitus chairman and auctioneer, said: “This was our largest sale so far in 2022. A deep understanding of the needs of the cash buyers and of the assets being sold is a prerequisite for successful sales and I am confident that notwithstanding the global and economic issues that we are all aware of, this is a good time in the cycle for investors to place funds into real estate.”
The next Acuitus auction takes place on 22 September.
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