Diversity pays dividends reaping over ?17m as 75% of properties sells at Andrews & Robertson?s debut auction of 2011

Investor demand for LPA receiverships, executor sales, Defence Estates, Transport for London and local authority stock in London locations saw Andrews and Robertson?s February 16 auction sell 75% of 100 lots.

At the packed Grand Connaught Rooms auction, cash rich buyers sourced residential and commercial properties with potential for adding value or produce strong rental returns. A total of 75 out of 100 properties sold, collectively guided at ?13.5m raised over?17m.

Robin Cripp, auctioneer, said: “We had a diversity of property in locations that appealed to buyers and sparked genuine competition in the room producing prices that were well above guides. There is a real enthusiasm to buy and no shortage of money for the right stock.

“Though the market remains predominantly London-centric, regional buyers are also sourcing investments and are looking for value. As our results demonstrate, there is no better place to establish value on the day than in our auction room.

“Following our intense marketing program there were 150 viewings on a former underground station in Shoreditch with potential for alternative use. It was a very hard property to price and was guided at ?180,000 as a result, but it found its own value in the room to sell for ?665,000.

“A former nightclub in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear: “Buffalo Joes”, which had failed to sell through private treaty after several months achieved its guide price of ?450,000 for the administrators after two local buyers travelled to our auction.

“To sell 75 out of 100 lots, at an average price of ?222,000 at a time when the national average success rate at auction is 64% shows the critical importance of managing clients expectations and correctly assessing the micro-market in which the property is located: whether in London, the North East and the South West of England.”

Vendors included: Grainger plc, Southwark, Greenwich and Lambeth Councils, Transport for London, Defence Estates, Affinity Sutton, LPA receivers, executors and trustees, as well as private property companies.

Other notable sales included:

• Lot 65: Home Farm, Tidworth, Wiltshire: A freehold detached period farmhouse, four freehold semi-detached cottages, and a range of traditional and modern farm buildings on a site of approximately 21.97 acres with redevelopment potential.
• Offered for Defence Estates: Guide ?900,000: Sold ?900,000
• Lot 64: Zouch Manor Farm, Tidworth, Wiltshire: Freehold former farm buildings, land and woodland, offered with vacant possession.
• Offered on behalf of Defence Estates: Guide ?120,000: Sold?500,000
• Lot 76: The Former Shoreditch Underground Station, Code Street, Shoreditch, E1: Freehold Single Floor Former Station Building, offered with vacant possession
• Offered on behalf of Transport for London: Guide ?180,000: Sold?665,000
• Lot 13, Humber Road, Blackheath, SE3: A freehold double fronted semi detached house arranged as three self contained flats and offered with vacant possession.
• Offered on behalf of the London Borough of Greenwich: Guide?625,000: Sold ?815,000

Andrews and Robertson’s next auction takes place on March 30 at London’s Grand Connaught Rooms.

Robin Cripp, Chief Executive and Senior Auctioneer
T: 020 7808 8530
E robincripp@a-r.co.uk

Posted in ASR News