Sustained buying by private property companies and high net worth individuals saw Acuitus sell 80% of the lots at its May auction and raise £27.9m.
Larger assets were in demand, with the highest price paid in the room being £3.4m for a Wholefoods in south London. The investment at 303-311 Lavender Hill, SW11, currently produces annual income of £229,000. The sale price reflected a yield of 6.33%.
Another London freehold shop investment on Kensington High Street, W8, let to tenants including Starbucks, sold for £1.75m – 6.11% yield.
There was also strong interest in investments north of the border. All the Scottish lots offered sold, including a Travelodge in Dundee which sold for £1.9m – a 5.65% yield – and the 24-unit Westwood Square shopping centre in East Kilbride, which sold for £1m.
Elsewhere, a 2,222 sq ft shop in Henley, Oxfordshire, let to FatFace at a current rent of £50,000, sold for £820,000 – 5.71% yield – while a coffee shop in Wells, Somerset, producing £58,000pa, sold for £770,000 at a yield of 7.14%.
Aucitus auctioneer Richard Auterac said: “There’s a steady flow of new investors – many high net worth individuals – who are increasingly turning to property auctions as a preferred investment channel because of its simplicity, speed and certainty. They target investments that are well-let on realistic rents in areas with demographic strength.
“There is a tremendous selling opportunity at present. Demand is strong and new investors continue to enter the market. We have sold close on 100 investments so far this year and demand continues to outstrip supply.”
The next Acuitus auction will take place on 11 July at The Montcalm Hotel, W1.
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