Comment by Sector
Retail
It remains the case that the retail sector dominates the overall statistics. It comprises nearly two-thirds of our sales which reflects the long running average, largely as the lot size is palatable to private investors who understand this sector best.
Location focused rental growth is starting to be seen, giving investors more confidence to buy, and with an average yield for the 299 sales of 9.1% there is a compelling argument to invest.
South Street, Bishop’s Stortford from our September auction proved that buyers are willing to bid competitively for High Street retail when the property fundamentals are strong. Let to ProCook until 2029 and prominently positioned within an affluent town, close to Waterstones, M&S, Nationwide & Greggs, the property sold for £1.21m (6.79%).
Convenience stores also fall within this sector and for many years have been a bedrock of demand from private investors who are seeking more passive investments. Long FR&I leases, commonly with index-linked reviews, and first class covenants allow buyers to be hands-off and collect four rent cheques per year.
Tesco Express, 67 Furze Platt Road, Maidenhead – A prominent convenience store let to Tesco Stores Limited until 2032 without break and benefitting from on-site parking. Following strong competition it sold in November for £1.57m (5.37%).
Mixed-Use Parades
Mixed-use parades have long been sought after by a large number of buyers in our market. They need not necessarily have national multiples in the tenant profile; it is the range of occupiers giving a spread of risk, the asset management angles and potential for rental growth that appeal to investors. In the more neighbourhood-style schemes, the occupiers generally provide an offering which is not available online.
This example in Staple Hill, Bristol from our December auction was fully let and provides 9 shops and 11 flats plus two shops on long leases. Tenants included Greggs and British Heart Foundation. After significant interest prior to the auction, it was sold for £2.425m (8.05%).
Comprising 13 shops, 10 flats and offices in Aintree, Liverpool the above parade offered immediate asset management opportunities through the formalising of lease renewals and implementing of outstanding rent reviews. An element of office accommodation provided potential for future alternative use. The property sold in July for £3.1m (9.45%).
Industrial
Whilst we have passed the peak of the industrial market, our buyers are always keen to add this sector to their portfolios as there is rental growth to be had, especially in the smaller lettings. We have sold 26 assets this year, raising £30m.
A good example of this was in Waterbeach, Cambridge - a terrace of 3 units on an established industrial estate. It comprised 10,232 sqft in total, let to 3 different tenants, and sold for £1.075m (6.55% and £105 psf).
Trade Counters continue to have a very healthy following from buyers as there remains strong occupier demand for the best units, particularly those which offer future-proofed energy efficiency credentials and the potential for rental growth.
One of the best examples from the year was in Bishop Aukland, County Durham. A stand-alone new build let to two recognised tenants in the sector – Toolstation and Formula One Autocentres, with Instavolt having installed 4 EV charging points in the car park and a rare EPC rating of ‘A’. It sold in November at £1.35m (6.6%).
Office
The year has seen nearly 40 office sales, few of which have been single let, which makes the sector a little harder to analyse. Our buyers are typically looking to add value in this sector through hands-on asset management to boost income or longer term redevelopment plays.
Two good examples of this are Alliance House, Bromley and 89 Fleet Street, London, both from the September Auction.
Alliance House, Bromley - comprises 17,221 sqft in total with various lettings producing £235,566pa. It was sold with consent to redevelop in part to provide further offices and seven flats. It had been on the market for many months prior to the auction marketing, when it was sold at £3m (£174psf) to a local buyer.
89 Fleet Street - is one of several bigger London Lots sold this year. The building comprises 3,271 sqft in total and is multi-let to 10 tenants including the ground floor shop. It sold at auction for £1.6m (6.41% and £489 psf) with one vacant unit.
The buyer was from Turkey, which continued a trend of overseas buyers that we have seen more frequently this year.
Leisure
The leisure sector has faced its fair share of challenges and cost increases from an operators’ perspective but when the fundamentals are right, our buyers continue to bid competitively.
The sector typically enjoys long leases, often with index-linked or fixed rental increases during the term, making them ideal investments for Private Family offices as the first example, The Gardeners Arms in Loughton shows.
This is a long lease to EI Group (guaranteed by Stonegate) which expires in 2049 with CPI linked reviews every 5 years. It sold in the September auction at £1.150m (6.57% and £250 psf).
Buyers are quick to identify where the real estate offers some added value in the long term, illustrated well by the Travelodge, Milton Keynes which sold in the September auction.
The 29-bed hotel occupies a highly prominent corner site of 1.3 acres on the busy A5. Whilst it is let until 2044, benefitting from 5-yearly reviews to CPI +0.5%, buyers fought to secure it for the long-term potential afforded by the road side opportunity.
After a prolonged battle at auction, with 13 registered bidders, it sold for £1.49m (5.29%).
Add Value Opportunities
Properties that provide the opportunity to create value through future development, either in the immediate or mid-term, often prove to be some of the most popular lots in our catalogue.
The existing building income profile, timing of any redevelopment, and extremely subjective appraisal input variables, mean that the spread on pricing from the market is hugely varied.
Eltham High Street, SE9 extended to over 13,200 sq ft and comprised 13 shops and 8 vacant office suites with planning consent for 8 flats. With a site area of 0.3 acres, some buyers saw longer term re-development angles. It was sold in our September auction for £2.415m (6.59% & £182 psf).
The Leyton Delivery Office was one of a package of four that we offered at the beginning of the year. Let to Royal Mail on an 18 month lease at a peppercorn, the property extends to 23,630 sq ft and occupies a site area of 0.651 acres. Buyers were focused on the future residential redevelopment angle and it sold for £3.75m (£159 psf £5.76m per acre).
Alternative
Our buyers are particularly keen to diversify their portfolios and will bid competitively for assets that fall under the alternative banner – a variety of sectors in which private investors are becoming increasingly familiar. This alternative pool can include medical, roadside, veterinary and nursery/education amongst other uses. These properties often share the same long-lease and index-linked review characteristics that we see in the leisure sector.
This example in Carlise is let to Independent Vetcare Ltd on a lease expiring in 2039 without break and benefits from 5-yearly CPI linked rent reviews.It sold in the June auction for £1.6m, (7.07% and £241 psf).
This nursery in Southampton, is let to Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited on a lease expiring in 2036 (break in 2030) with RPI-linked reviews every fifth year. It sold for £1.2m (7.17%).
Vacant
The reach of our mailing list has allowed us to find buyers for an ever-widening range of stock, which included nearly £24m of vacant assets in 2025.
These vacant assets span all sectors from distribution sites, to mixed-use properties in locations throughout the UK.
Pricing these assets is extremely subjective as buyers have a variety of ideas as to future use, and an auction provides the platform for inherent value to be extracted through competitive bidding.
Former Council Depot, Dunstable - A self-contained, gated one-acre site with 6,500sqft of buildings which had been used as a storage depot since the 1970s. It was sold for £1.75m (£1.75m per acre).
72-74 High Road, East Finchley, London comprises two adjacent buildings with interconnecting shops to the ground floor, two flats above one unit and ancillary space above the other with future development potential. It sold for £1.425m (£350psf).
London
The Capital remains a focus of demand for many buyers in the auction market and the broad spectrum of properties offered, from Central London to the suburbs, provide ample opportunity for them to invest at varying price-points.
With strong underlying bricks & mortar values in almost all areas, buyers will analyse the properties not only on a yield basis, but also on an overall capital rate (£psf).
The Broadway, Wimbledon, is a traditional ‘shop & upper parts’, entirely let to Clarks until 2027. In a prosperous suburb, buyers saw future value in the under-utilised upper floors which explained the eventual sale price of £1.71m (4.41% & £678 psf).
Occupying a prominent corner position on the highly desirable Kensington High Street, W8 this ground floor and basement retail unit was let to Paris Baguette until 2036 without break. The location shone through here and it achieved £3.36m (6.10%).
Kensington Park Road comprises a shop and separately let 4-bedroom flat to the upper floors in the fashionable Notting Hill. The property sold for £2m (4.55% & £714 psf).
Situated on Battersea Rise, SW11, close to Clapham Junction station, this mixed-use example included a takeaway/restaurant to the ground floor with 2 flats above and sold for £1.25m (6.45% & £610 psf).