A Grade II listed office building opposite Windsor Castle created a bidding frenzy in the latest Allsop commercial auction before finally selling for £2.6m after 177 bids.
Strong interest in the 4,226 sq ft building (lot 27), pictured, with clear residential redevelopment potential drove the price from a guide of £1.5m-£1.6m, which reflected a gross initial yield of 6.67%. The sale price reflects a 3.8% yield based on income from Inigo Business Centres. That lease expires in 2023.
Auctioneer George Walker said the success of the lot in the 3 November sale showed “a rush to quality”.
“The lot has a strong residential and/or leisure alternative use value, as well as being one of the tenant’s most profitable business centres as an office,” he said.
The vendor bought the building on Castle Hill from the Crown Estate originally, and watched the online auction from Florida while also watching the US election coverage. He told Allsop that he had not had as much fun in years watching the bidding frenzy.
The sale helped Allsop to a £43.4m total, with more than 80% of the 87 lots offered finding buyers.
“Added to our new date in September, this takes us nearly to where we were in terms of total sales this time last year. It’s a great endorsement of the appetite of the private investor, even in these odd times,” Walker said.
As expected, it was a mixed picture for retail lots. “Retail is simply hard to price, and there were plenty of examples of strong prices and equally of lots that struggled to sell,” he said.
In Muswell Hill, N10, a freehold shop and residential ground rent investment (lot 4) sold at its guide of £925,000, a net yield of 7.79%.
In Boscombe, Bournemouth, a shop let to a European supermarket with a maisonette and studio flat (lot 83) sold for £325,000, a 10.64% yield. It was guided at £300,000.
In Rotheram, South Yorkshire, lot 86 was a retail parade guided at £600,000-£650,000, a 15.49% yield, which sold prior.
Among those lots still available is a retail parade and office investment in the Manchester suburb of Burnage. The property (lot 29) is guided at £1.5m, an 8.6% yield.
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