The number of lots sold by Britain’s biggest commercial auctioneer fell by more than a quarter last year as political uncertainty dampened sentiment.
Allsop reported that it sold 631 commercial lots in 2019 – a 27.1% fall compared with the 866 lots sold at its commercial auctions the year before and a third fewer than the 936 it sold in 2017.
The total amount of money raised through commercial auctions at Allsop also fell 16.7% in 2019 to £433m, compared with £520m a year earlier.
Allsop said that, despite the fall in volumes, overall success rates remained high, falling slightly to 85% in 2019 from 86% in 2018 and 87% in 2017.
“Investor appetite for commercial assets remained stronger during 2019 than anticipated, despite political turmoil,” said George Walker, partner and auctioneer at Allsop. “The wider private treaty market looks to have dropped in turnover by well over 30% year on year, which is twice the reduction of the auction market.”
The auctioneer reported that, even though its 9th December commercial auction included its smallest catalogue for almost five years, the 92% success rate for that particular sale was the highest it had achieved for any sale in the last three years.
“We believe now that there is more political certainty volumes will pick up in 2020,” Walker added. “But of course that doesn’t mean that assets are worth more. Sellers need to feel confident that they can get a good price for their stock and that they can replace whatever it is they are selling.
The number of lots sold for more than £1m fell to just 115 in 2019 from 148 in 2018 and 187 in 2017. However, Allsop said that the average lot size for auction sales increased to £670,000 from £600,000 a year earlier – something it said reflected “buyer demand for bigger assets”.
Retail investments were the asset class which appeared to be hardest hit as high-street woes continued to weigh on shop sales. The total value of retail investments sold at auction in 2019 fell by around a fifth, from £378m a year earlier to £301m.
The total value of offices sold at auction tripled to £44.7m in 2019 from £14m in 2018, although much of this can be attributed to the auction house’s highest value lot of the year, an office building in Covent Garden, WC2, which sold under the hammer for £12.4m in February. Allsop’s second highest sale of 2019 was a mixed-use estate in Pitsea, Essex, which sold for £4.56m.
Allsop said that the total value of alternative investments sold at auction increased to £36.7m from £27m a year earlier.
