The freehold of a former BHS store in Sheffield was the star lot at Acuitus’s first auction of 2016, selling for £3.3m off of a guide price of £2.7m.
The 99,275 sq ft property, Castlegate House, is let entirely to BHS for 35 years from 25 December 1987 to 24 December 2022, but is now occupied by a variety of retailers, generating £531,000 pa.
The BHS shop closed in 2010, and the lower and ground floors have been sublet for 10 years from June 2010 to B&M Retail, which occupies 35,000 per sq ft and pays rent of £180,000 pa.
Betting shop Ladbrokes has also sublet 2,000 sq ft of BHS’s former space. It signed a 10-year lease in June 2013 at an annual rent of £26,000 per sq ft pa. The ground floor is currently trading as Fulton Foods, which occupies 11,000 sq ft also on a 10-year lease from 2013.
The property’s second floor is vacant.
Out of 71 lots offered, 69 sold, reflecting a 98% success rate. Of these, 57 sold in the room and 12 sold prior, with an average price of £817,000. The auction raised £56.3m in total.
The continued popularity of pub investments was shown by the sale of the Becketts Bank Wetherspoons in Park Row, Leeds. Let until 2040 at £165,000 pa, it sold for £2.8m.
Auctioneer Richard Auterac said: “Many of the lots offered will require active asset management. However, buyers are now backing their ability to do this in an environment where rents have rebased and there is wage growth and consumer spending.”
The auction took place at the Radisson Blu Portman Hotel, W1, on 11 February.
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