Allsop raise over £96m in biggest auction since October 2018

• 34 lots sold at £1m or more at an average of £1.67m
• 77% of investments sold were retail assets as buyers chase the best and demonstrate an appetite for risk
• Largest lot to sell was the former Readers Digest head office in Swindon for £5m, (lots 34 and 54 combined)

Allsop’s sixth commercial auction of 2021 was held on Thursday [23.09], raising £96.7m from 113 investments.

The auction was Allsop’s largest commercial sale in nearly three years with 86% of the lots sold at the auction, selling above their reserves.

Trade counters and industrials featured strongly in the sale, with lots 25 and 31 let to Jewson and West Sussex County Council on long leases expiring 2032 and 2030, selling at £5m, 6% net.

Mixed use investments continued to appeal to buyers looking to diversify their exposure, with good appetite shown for assets across the UK.

George Walker, partner and auctioneer, at Allsop, said:

“This was a strong sale; we raised the biggest total in the market since pre-Brexit in October 2018. Demand on auction day continued to be as solid as we have seen all year so far.

“Investors and some corporate tenants continue to compete for the best assets, while showing good appetite for risk on the poorer stock, particularly in the retail sector which comprised over 75% of the sale. The auction showed signs of a retail market rebound, reflecting confidence and faith in bricks in mortar.”

Highlights include:

• Lots 35 & 54, Swindon: A prominent office building with attached industrial unit, arranged over 63,609sqft Sold at £5m prior to auction, £78 per sq ft
• Lots 25 & 31, Chichester: Two lots comprising a modern trade counter of 15,053 sq ft let to Jewson Limited at £176,625 p.a. until 2032, and an industrial unit of 34,730 sq ft let to West Sussex County Council at £144,125 p.a. until 2030. Both sold prior to auction at combined price of £5m (6% NIY)
• Lot 13 – Tenterden: An unbroken parade of five shops, five maisonettes, garages and car park spaces. Tenants include Boots UK Limited let at a total rent of £181,044 p.a. Sold £2.255m (7.6% NIY)

Allsop’s next commercial auction will take place on November 2^nd 2021.