Allsop Commercial has announced its slowest start to the year since 2015, as low volumes continue to dog the UK’s largest commercial auctioneer.
Allsop’s first commercial auction catalogue of the year, published this week, includes just 113 lots, the lowest number offered by the auctioneer for a February auction since 2015.
“Our view is that volumes will increase in 2020, but it will be a slow start,” said George Walker, partner and auctioneer at Allsop. “Since the General Election we have seen more confidence in the market, but it is going to take time for that to filter through to auction volumes.”
Nonetheless, Allsop’s February commercial catalogue will be slightly larger than its December predecessor, when the company offered just 84 lots but then went on to sell 92% of those – its highest success rate of the year.
Industrial investments are set to feature prominently in the auction. The biggest lot to come under the hammer next month will be an estate of five warehouses in Barking, east London, totalling 16,921 sq ft which currently generates an income of £217,198 pa and is guided at in excess of £3.25m.
The second-highest-priced investment in the catalogue is an industrial estate in Warrington, Cheshire, which comprises 45 multilet units totalling 36,668 sq ft on a four-acre site. It is guided at more than £3m and currently generates a total rent of £272,967 a year.
In total, 25 of the lots offered are guided at £1m or more, including a Halifax bank building in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, with two maisonettes above, guided at £2.7m to £2.9m, and a picturesque vacant wood mill and cottage in Ambleside, Cumbria, in the heart of the Lake District (pictured), which is guided at £1.25m.
The auction will take place on 11 February at the Berkeley Hotel, SW1.
