March Commercial Property Auction Market Update

Commercial Comes Back …. What Happened?

In line with seasonal trends, the volume of commercial sales slowed down considerably in the early part of 2025. But both major commercial auctions held sales last month. So let’s jump right in and look carefully at what happened at those.

The Acuitus sale raised £20.8m in total with 86% of the lots offered selling. Notably there were numerous larger lots with nine of them selling for in excess of £1m.

Star of the show was an office property in London’s Covent Garden which sold for £5.46m and generates £270,000 pa rental income (4.6% yield).

Seven freehold properties in Nottingham, sold for the local authority, raised £10.59m – 30% over the original valuation. Amongst the lots was a supermarket car park ground rent investment which sold for just over £1m – double the original guide price. Three freehold investments on an industrial estate sold for between £1.46m-£1.725m (5.2%-6.4% yields). An industrial estate comprising eight units sold for £1.85m (7.7% yield) while another estate sold for £1.28m (4.7% yield). A city centre mixed use parade offering £101,500 pa rent sold for £1.55m (5.9% yield).

Other key lots included a property let to Halfords, in Staines upon Thames, which sold for £940,000 (5.1% yield) and a mixed use property in Wokingham which sold for £1.2m (8.08% yield).

Speaking of the results Richard Auterac, Chairman of Acuitus, said: “The results from our first auction of the year, 17% more than our auction last February, has been driven by a good number of sought-after assets. Assets that have secure income and future capital growth potential will always attract maximum interest from those motivated buyers in today’s market who have the fire power and wherewithal to commit.

“The average lot size sold in the room was £1.29m. As stated at our recent client conference there is no shortage of equity but rather a shortage of quality investable stock. There are some significant pools of investor wealth looking for assets with income resilience and capital growth potential. This shows the importance of how we engage with our buying clients throughout the auction process, working with them and ensuring that they are fully empowered to bid at our live-streamed auctions.”

The Allsop sale raised £38.5m with a success rate of 83%. Again, there were a notable number of large lots – 10 lots sold for over £1m. The largest lot, a sorting office in east London, sold for around £4m.

Key lots sold at the sale (or prior) included a mixed use property comprising shops and flats in Ealing, London, which sold for £1.9m (6.5% net initial yield). A retail convenience store in Portsmouth sold for £554,000 (5.89% net initial yield). Two shops in Nottingham generating a rent of £130,000 pa sold for £1.25m (9.8% net initial yield). A sorting office in Leyton, London, with redevelopment potential sold for around £4m. A shopping centre in Rhyl sold for £2.11m (15.4% triple net yield). An industrial estate in Willenhall, West Midlands, sold for £1.65m (8.7% net initial yield).

George Walker, Partner and Commercial Auctioneer at Allsop, said of these results: “This was a very positive start to the year, particularly on the day that interest rates were cut to 4.5%, signalling the potential rebound of our high yielding market. As ever, we sold a significant range of assets, from mixed use London parades to shopping centres and industrial estates, offering investors strong diversification opportunities for their cash.

“With investors clearly in the market with an eagerness to acquire commercial real estate, our first sale of the year suggests an encouraging outlook for the rest of 2025.”

In summary the returns from the two main commercial auction houses in the country seem to suggest that the market is buoyant indeed. Commercial lots that offer reliable returns, or scope to develop or improve, are selling readily and at strong money.