"There is still sufficient appetite for income-producing investments across the UK as well as value-added opportunities. We are already preparing our next catalogue for April, which will feature a number of attractive opportunities to fit a variety of portfolio themes and risk appetite levels."
- Richard Adamson - Allsop
Property auction house, Allsop, has announced that it raised £58.1 million through back-to-back commercial and residential auctions held in March.
The residential auction raised £25m from the sale of 117 lots. The highest-value lot of the auction was a freehold mid-terrace building in Holloway, north London, which sold for £950,000 from a guide price of £750,000.
The commercial auction raised £33.1m through the sale of 54 lots, eight of which sold for more than £1 million. Westgate House, a 74,000 sq. ft retail and office investment in Halifax town centre, saw particularly fierce competition from a number of motivated buyers, which drove the sale price up to £3.53m, more than 40% above the original guide price.
“The general nervousness in the wider economy over the past few weeks has clearly influenced buyer sentiment in the residential sector, which had previously been showing strong resilience not shared by other investment sectors," explained Richard Adamson, Managing Partner and Residential Auctioneer at Allsop, "A stalling economy and changes to stamp duty will have unsettled some investors, however, this is likely to be a point in time where the market readjusts before moving on again,"
He concluded, “There is still sufficient appetite for income-producing investments across the UK as well as value-added opportunities. We are already preparing our next catalogue for April, which will feature a number of attractive opportunities to fit a variety of portfolio themes and risk appetite levels.”
George Walker, Partner and Commercial Auctioneer at Allsop, added, “Whilst overall market sentiment is perhaps not as strong as it could be, the investors in our market are still actively seeking out opportunities where they see growth and security to add to their portfolios. Our recent sale proved this, with buyers eagerly competing for lots that provide long-term income.
"Having raised well over £30 million last week, and with several sales after auction in progress, we anticipate this total will increase swiftly as we work towards the release of our 1st May auction catalogue.”
Allsop’s next residential auction will take place on the 15th and 16th of April via livestream, followed by an online commercial auction on 1st May.
