A freehold public house in Hertfordshire was the top lot at Allsop Commercial’s most recent sale, selling for £4m – a 5.5% yield.
The Cock Inn is let to Mitchells & Butler on a 35-year lease, and generates £220,000 pa.
The pub was sold by a UK-based public limited company and bought by a group of Isle of Man-based investors. It was one of 135 lots to sell out of 162 offered – an 84% success rate. The sale raised a total of £65m.
It was marginally the firm’s lowest success rate so far this year, falling slightly behind the 85% achieved at both its February and March sales, at which it raised £36m and £65m respectively.
Auctioneer Duncan Moir said: “Positive economic data and continuing low interest rates support the case for property investment and our auction room gives vendors unrivalled access to an increasingly hungry pool of buyers.”
The firm’s buyer survey revealed a wide geographical spread of purchasers, with 53% bidding on properties located outside the region in which they live.
The number of buyers intending to invest again in the next 12 months increased to 83%, up from March’s figure of 79%.
In addition, the number of cash buyers increased to 69% compared with 65% in March.
Other notable sales on the day included the freehold of a mixed-use property in Cricklewood, NW2, comprising a Barclays bank and six flats, which generates £146,350 pa.
It was offered on behalf of a London-based private investor and sold to a London-based property company for £3m – a 4.5% yield.
Moir said: “From the rostrum there was a very positive feel to the room, with bidders competing hard for their chosen lots, leading to a number of excellent results for our clients.”
The auction took place on 18 May at the Berkeley hotel, SW1.
