Allsop’s last commercial auction of 2022 raises £34m, with success rate of 86%

• Allsop’s last commercial auction of the year raises £34m from the sale of 72 lots, with a success rate of 86%
• The largest lot to sell in December was a convenience store with two upper-level flats in Pangbourne, sold at £1.5m
• A portfolio of 19 betting offices let to William Hill sold at an average yield of 6.9%

Allsop concluded the year with the sale of 72 lots across the UK, with a success rate of 86%.

A portfolio of 19 sale and lease-back betting offices let to William Hill Organization on 15-year leases attracted particularly high volumes of buyer interest due to the security of income and CPI-linked rent increases and achieved an average NIY of 6.9%. Despite the rising cost of finance, 14 of the December lots achieved NIYs of 6% or below.

Allsop also sold 16 lots as part of the Medivet portfolio, with an average NIY of 7.9%. The largest veterinary practice located in Slough sold at over £1m, £280,000 above the guide price, following a highly competitive bidding process involving 10 potential investors.

The largest lot of the December sale, a convenience store in Pangbourne, which sold at £1.5m, was originally purchased from an Allsop auction in December 1996 for £240,000. The property has since undergone substantial value-add redevelopment, including the addition of two apartments, and is now let to the Co-operative Foodstores Limited until 2037 with no breaks.

George Walker, partner and auctioneer at Allsop, said: “Despite a series of political shifts affecting market confidence and protracted economic instability, we’ve had a successful 2022. Since the start of the year, Allsop’s commercial auction arm has sold a total of 715 lots, raising a combined £544m, with an overall success rate of 89%, in spite of the challenging market conditions.

“Thanks to the depth of our market knowledge and the relationships we’ve built with our sellers and buyers over the years, we’ve been able to continue transacting and offer compelling opportunities to our buyers. We look forward to returning to the virtual ballroom in 2023 with a greater number of enticing investment opportunities”.

Other highlights include:

• Lot 5 – an estate agents office let to Foxtons Ltd until 2032 with a maisonette above in South Kensington, sold at £1.1m
• Lot 10 – two detached industrial units in Kidderminster on a 1.35-acre site, sold at £1.3m
• Lot 23 –two shops with planning consent for a hotel above in Bury St Edmunds, sold to one of the tenants at £1.47m
• Lot 31 – a freehold pharmacy investment in Wells let to Boots UK Ltd until 2029, sold at £1,480,000

Allsop’s next commercial auction will take place online on 2^nd February.