Acuitus said investors targeting shops let to “resilient” brands helped it to sell £33.8m of property at its July auction, reflecting a success rate of 86%.
The auction house reported that 41 lots were sold out of the 48 offered, and almost a third of sales achieved more than £1m. The average lot size for properties located in England was close to £900,000.
Three trade counter investments let to Travis Perkins sold for £1.45m, £1.12m and £800,000, at yields of 6.2%, 4.3% and 6.7% respectively. And a pair of stores let to value retailer B&M sold for £900,000 and £740,000, at yields of 7.3% and 7.6% respectively.
Acuitus said that, despite falling retail property prices, there was still demand from investors for shops let to brands that could survive competition from online alternatives.
“This was our most successful sale of 2019, and shows how confidence in the room has strengthened as the year has progressed,” said Acuitus auctioneer Richard Auterac. “Investors are targeting assets that are well let at sustainable rents to brands that they feel have resilience and good trading prospects.”
Duval House (pictured), a vacant 12,263 sq ft office block close to London’s Heathrow Airport, achieved the highest price at the auction, selling for £2.5m – more than twice its guide price, which had been set at £975,000.
However, the continued gloom on the UK high street and political uncertainty over Brexit continued to put pressure on sales volumes.
The results reflect a decrease on the auction last year, when Acuitus sold 76 of the 87 lots offered for £41m, reflecting an 88% success rate.
The next Acuitus auction will take place on 24 October at the Montcalm Hotel, W1.
