Chesterton failed to convert inquiries into deals at its 23-lot sale, as buyers shunned the room in favour of post-auction offers.
“Our experience on the day proved very different from what pre-auction activity had led us to expect,” admitted Chesterton’s Cliff Krieger.
“Transactions before and after the sale are now as important as what happens on the day itself.”
The sale recorded a success rate of just 57%, raising £2.6m, although Krieger expects the tally to be closer to 75% and £7m.
Retail investments were popular. A Leicester unit, let to Endsleigh Insurance, made £112,000, an 8.2% yield. Another, occupied by Cafe Rouge in Clapham, SW4, fetched £340,000, a 10% yield.
But several larger lots failed to find buyers. Osborn House, a retail and office investment producing £269,000 in Middlesex Street, E1, missed its £1.7m reserve. And bidding on Ashworth House in Burnley, Lancashire, did not make the £1.6m hoped for.
