Investors demonstrated how quickly they have adapted to the current situation as Acuitus has so far raised £13.355m at its May sale and sold 73% of the lots offered.

Acuitus Chairman, Richard Auterac, comments: “Great credit has to go to our selling clients and investors for the way in which they have quickly got to grips with not only the market but also how to trade through auctions.

“We are the only leading commercial property auctioneer in the UK who continues to offer a live auction experience with a range of bidding options. Even though we offered 22 lots, we still had more than 800 bids made via telephone, proxy and online bidding at the auction and we were very pleased how these worked together to give the flexibility that our selling and buying clients demanded and giving bidders a real time feel for the sentiment of the market.”

A potential development site with long dated rental income– this time on the High Street in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire – attracted very strong interest at the sale. Acuitus Investment Director, David Margolis commented: “This unoccupied supermarket is currently let to Booker Retail Partners until 2037 at a current rent of £80,000, but it also has a 30-space car park at the rear of the property which makes it potentially suitable for either development or a change of use. It sold for £1.042m and attracted more than 200 bids”.

Long-term income remains a primary attraction for many buyers, and the sale saw a retail and residential investment in Harrow sell for £645,000 at a yield of 3.45%. Acuitus Director, Peter Cunliffe, reports: “The property comprises a shop let on a new 15-year lease at a current rent of £24,000, and a self-contained, four-room maisonette on the upper floors. It’s precisely the type of long-let asset with some scope for asset management that many investors are looking for”.

The largest lot of the May sale was a redevelopment site in London’s East Finchley which sold prior for in excess of £4m. The 0.33-acre site opposite East Finchley underground station has planning consent for 21 flats. The permission also encompasses B1 office use on the ground and lower ground floors.

Acuitus Investment Director, John Mehtab, comments: “There is substantial interest in London residential development sites in suburban locations and this sale demonstrated the level of demand”.

Richard Auterac, comments “We have had very positive feedback to the way the sale was staged and how we sought to create the same environment as the auction room. For many years, we’ve offered means of bidding which were an alternative to being present at an auction. Whilst these have come into their own in the present situation, many of the established investors tell us that they will continue to want to meet their peers in the auction room to exchange knowledge and create business relationships as well as to trade.

“Whilst we have invested in technology heavily over many years, and will continue to do so, from our perspective, what remains clear is that in the commercial property investment market, our in-depth knowledge, expertise and the quality of advice given are central to our selling and buying clients. The personal interaction is what our clients trust”.​