- UK’s leading auctioneer raises over £45m
- Start delayed as bidders queue outside Mayfair venue
- Auction room extended to accommodate crowds
Allsop’s first residential auction of the year delivered a very clear message to the market. Confidence has been restored.
It was apparent from the beginning of the day that proceedings were going to be lively. The 10.00am start was delayed for half an hour to allow the hundreds of bidders queuing outside the InterContinental Hotel time to clear the venue’s security and gain access to the hall. As the sale opened, the room had to be extended and partitions removed to accommodate the increasing numbers.
Gary Murphy, auctioneer at Allsop, said:
“This was the liveliest sale that we’ve seen for years. Bidders now have the confidence to put up a real fight. Prices were strong, particularly where reserves and guides were set at attractive levels. Our results clearly indicate that the coming months will be a great time to sell. We expect a very full catalogue in March.”
Development opportunities were keenly sought after. Lot 53, the largest lot of the sale, for example, was a freehold semi-detached freehold building at 33 Queen’s Road, Wimbledon, London SW19. Offered with the benefit of planning permission for reconfiguration and extension to provide seven self-contained flats, the lot was knocked down for £2m.
Interest was not confined to London. Lot 142, a freehold former care home providing 19 bedrooms, and extending to over 16,000 sq ft in 6.8 acres, was sold for £1.38m from a guide price of £1m+. Although The Grange at Greyshot in Hindhead, Surrey had potential (subject to consents) for conversion or change of use, redevelopment of the site will have been an attractive possibility for many bidders.
Despite sensitivities following the recent Law Commission Report on enfranchisement, ground rent investments remained in demand. Lot 17, Apsley House, Finchley Road, St John’s Wood, London NW8, was an attractive landmark leasehold building subject to 85 occupational under leases – 22 of which were reversionary. It was knocked down at £950,000.
Allsop’s next residential auction sale will be held on 31 March at The Event Suites, Great Cumberland Place, London W1. Entries available up to 9 March.
